


A Day With Steven

by FilmFreak94



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5223038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FilmFreak94/pseuds/FilmFreak94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A typical day in for the Crystal Gems as they take care of their newest member.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote and finished this story a few months back with the help of a friend of mine but am only just uploading it here where people actually read these things. I know there's plenty of other Baby Steven fics out there but I purposely have never read any because I always wanted to take a crack at how the Gems might interact with the newborn bebe, especially in the wake of losing their mentor/leader/mother-figure/possible lover/pink lady.
> 
> I wanted to approach each Gem in a slightly different style, in terms of writing and in terms of the way the story plays out, and that was probably what I enjoyed about it the most. I try and write whatever fanfics I do in a way that could exist somewhere between canon but since I've made this some stuff has come out in actual canon or just from the word of the creators that renders some of it moot but what can you do? It's fanfiction it doesn't have to be a hundred percent accurate (as much as you want it to be).
> 
> Anyway, if you take the time to read it I hope you like it or at least have some fun with it. It's not perfect, nothing I write is or will be, but at the very least all I hope for is that it's interesting.

**Dawn**

 

He stood on the very edge of the beach, letting the tide wash up to his bare feet, either engulfing them or barely touching the very tip of his toes. The night sky was a dark purple, the stars glistening far above to the far reaches of the cosmos. He looked out to them, trying to recall the constellations. Wondering which one she might have called home.

His gaze fell upon the water. It was glowing an unearthly light blue, as if illuminated by a thousand lights just underneath the surface. It was uncanny, and yet it only seemed to add to the serenity of it all. He sighed, closing his eyes as he let the tide continue its dance underneath him. He escaped into the salty-pristine aroma, burying his feet underneath the sand and listening to nothing else but the calm of the sea. It was the first time he had felt so calm in months.

When he opened his eyes he was met with a familiar sight. A sight that should have shocked him but did nothing to interrupt his serendipity. It was a woman, standing out on the water, clutching her stomach and walking towards him. He knew this woman but he did not call out her name. It almost felt like he had forgotten how to speak entirely. She walked gracefully across the surface of the ocean, nothing deterring her. Even the waves seemed to completely pass her by. She approached him on the shore and held out her hand. She was quite tall.

“Swim with me.”

Her voice was as calm as the sea, and a hundred times more beautiful. Without hesitation he took her hand and walked with her onto the surface of the water. They held each other’s gaze for some time, never wavering in their step as she led them further out from shore. He broke eye contact for a moment, looking down at the illuminated sea below him. It was so clear he could see schools of fish swimming beneath them, and the reflections of the surface on the ocean floor. They were much farther out than he had noticed but he did not lose balance or try and cling to the woman for comfort. He merely looked back into her eyes and continued to follow her. Farther and farther and farther and farther and…

Eventually they did stop, and continued to stare at each other for a long time afterwards. She smiled at him, caressing the side of his hand with her thumb. The calm that consumed him was at an all-time peak.

“Trust me.” She whispered. The world around him seemed to rise as he sank into the ocean. He could feel the chilling water wash over him but continued to remain calm. For she was still holding his hand and was not letting go. He was entirely submerged by the time she had sunk below with him. She was absolutely angelic, her dress rippling out every which way, her hair floating behind her. They continued to hold hands and float somewhere between the surface and the floor. And then they began to dance.

He could hear no music but she seemed to keep some form of rhythm in time with a phantom melody only she could hear. She led them with each step, guiding him and twirling him around with her arm. He didn’t mind, he was too small to lead the most times they danced. She twirled him again and dipped him, giving him an excellent view of the refracted moon high above. It was nothing compared to the vision immediately in front of him. She smiled at him again, perhaps she had never stopped, and spoke to him once more.

“I’ve thought of what I’d like to name him.” He placed a free hand on her cheek and pulled her in for a soft kiss. He said something to her in turn but could not discern what it was. She rested her head on his and whispered it in his ear.

A horrible shrieking emitted all around them, interrupting his calm and setting his lungs on fire. He needed to breathe. But what was even more amiss was that the woman had completely vanished. He spun around looking all around him but could find no trace of her, his need for air growing worse and worse with each second. He could no longer remain underwater and had to emerge as fast as he could. He kicked his legs furiously but couldn’t seem to get anywhere near the surface. He waved his arms frantically, trying to pick up momentum but it did no good. His lungs felt as if they were being sucked into a giant wormhole and the world around him grew dark. The only source of light was the moon far above but the darkness soon encircled it. He focused as hard as he could on it, hoping that it would give him the strength he needed. His strokes became weaker, his eyes harder to keep open, and the darkness had swallowed the moon.


	2. Morning

 

 

“AGH, HE’S CRYING AGAIN!”

Greg awoke from the couch in the unfinished beach house shortly after the sound of another shrieking voice. It was not the same shriek that had pulled him out of his dreams, but the shriek of one of his fellow caretakers. A purple humanoid, with two fingers covering where her ears might be and a look that could set the crib in the middle of the room on fire if she wanted.

“Amethyst,” Greg was able to utter as he stretched himself out. “What are you doing out here?”

“Doesn’t matter where I am, you can hear him everywhere!” Amethyst yelled over the crib’s patron’s wailing moans. Normally (or lack thereof where she and the other two were concerned) this noise shouldn’t have bothered someone like Amethyst, seeing as how sleep was inconsequential to her kind (though she liked doing it as a hobby regardless). But Greg nodded as he rubbed his eyes, drawing himself off the couch and over to the crib.

“Hey there little guy,” he said leaning into the source of all the din. “What’s the matter?” The patron’s cries seemed to diminish ever so slightly at the sight of his father, but not enough to plug up the hole to the dam of his tears.

“All I did was lean in and say hi,” Amethyst said, releasing her fingers from inside her long hair, “and then he started bawling.”

“Maybe you surprised him.” Greg stated, still more than a bit groggy. A foreign and toxic smell suddenly bombarded into his nostrils. “Oh yeah,” he pinched his nose, “you definitely surprised him.”

“It’s not my fault he’s scared of everything.” Amethyst folded her arms and looked up at the light pink sky through the holes in the unfinished roof.

“Have you ever really hung around a baby for more than five minutes, Amethyst?” Greg asked, his nose still held tight by his fingers.

“Course I have.” She said with annoyance, and it was true. She had had random dealings with the occasional human infant in her rather extensive time on Earth, and one of her close friends had had a baby of her own awhile back. The only difference between those babies and this one was that she didn’t have to live with the other ones.

“All right buddy,” Greg said lifting the baby from the crib, “let’s get you fixed up.” He took the still crying baby across the room and to what would eventually be the kitchen area. It was a quaint little place they were building, a beach house fit for a king. If that king were a little boy, and that little boy was decidedly a lot cheaper. Still they had done a pretty good job with it, the basic construction was nearly completed and some of the indoor plumbing had been worked out (how exactly it had been worked out had only been answered with “magic” when Greg asked). The kitchen counter for instance was nearly completed and a little sink had already been built in that gave the best tap water Greg had ever drank. For now it served as a hose as he removed his son’s offending diaper and washed his bum thoroughly. “Hehe, ‘bum,’” Some immature part of him always loved saying that.

The door on the far end of the room, where the wooden floorboards seemed to be taken over by a heap of sand, began to glow and two more people stepped into the room. Although ‘people’ was the entirely wrong word to describe them, even if they looked ‘people’ enough. They were the Crystal Gems, Amethyst too, and they were unlike anything Greg had ever seen before. The light-skinned one with the pointy hair (and even pointier nose) sporting a sleeveless blue tunic and pink leggings covered by a see-through tutu was Pearl, and the taller one wearing sunglasses that covered her eyes and a patterned dark and crimson bodysuit was Garnet. They were still in the middle of a conversation as they stepped out, just as Greg was applying a safety pin to the baby’s fresh diaper.

“Hey guys.” Greg greeted them with as much cheerfulness as one can muster with about five hours of sleep. The two were pulled out of the conversation and gave him a brief greeting in turn, Pearl peering over him to watch the baby.

“Ooooh, who’s awake so early in the morning?” She crooned. The baby stared up at her as he finally stopped crying. His glass-shattering wail replaced with a soft, shy smile.

“It’s you!” Pearl poked his belly gently, earning a happy chuckle. “Yes, you’re the awake one!” She reached down and picked him up, bouncing him in her arms still cooing over him. “Have you fed him yet?” She asked Greg.

“I was about to. You can if you-” He didn’t need to finish the invitation, Pearl was already at the fridge, getting the morning formula and popping it in that strange device called a “mike-row-wave,” still speaking gibberish to the baby in her arms.

“So what’s up?” Amethyst asked Garnet, their conversation seemed pretty serious before they’d gotten distracted.

“There’s been some activity near one of the crashed battleships.” Garnet said in her usual stoic manner.

“What, the ones in the old battlefield?” Amethyst asked. Garnet shook her head.

“No, these were some of the old scout parties that originally landed on Earth. They’re near the-”

“Oh,” Amethyst interrupted, “yeah…” The purple Gem fell silent for a moment and a gloomy air seemed to fill the house (that wasn’t just the sea breeze blowing in through the very spacious cracks). Greg had a faint idea what they were referring to but never really learned the full story. He didn’t really _want_ to learn the full story the more he thought of it. She had told him the barebones details long ago but in her own words there were some things that were better left unsaid. Even now that he wished he could hear her say them just one last time.

“I doubt there’s really anything too serious going on,” Pearl said as she positioned the bottle carefully so the baby could drink it. “Probably just some wild animals who’ve wandered in trying to make a new home.” She had to wince at how familiar that sounded.

“Nonetheless,” Garnet said, “we can’t leave anything to chance. So, Gems, if you’re ready.” Pearl and Amethyst gave a nod in compliance, their faces as serious as they ever were before a mission. Amethyst cracked her neck and knuckles, a smirk of confident anticipation etched on her face. Pearl waited a little until the baby was satisfied then placed him carefully back in Greg’s arms, joining her fellow Gems at the strange circle between the sand and the Temple Gate.

“Wait,” Greg called just as a bright light was about to engulf them, “are you all going?”

“Of course,” Pearl replied, “is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just,” Greg patted his son’s back as he burped into the sleeve of his old tour T-shirt, “I’m supposed to go into work pretty soon.” The light dissipated, the Gems had forgotten that Greg had recently gotten a job at a car wash to help pay for the construction of the house in any way he could. Garnet cursed herself silently for her haste, if anyone should have remembered this it was her.

“All right,” she said with zeal, “Amethyst, you’ll watch over him.”

“What?!” The purple gem whined. “Are you kidding?”

“Garnet,” Pearl offered, “if it’s all the same I could-” Garnet held a finger for silence.

“You stayed and watched over him last time.” She said to Pearl, who had to reluctantly hang her head in agreement.

“Well why don’t you stay and watch him then?” Amethyst put the question to Garnet.

“Because I’m needed on this mission.” This wasn’t a malicious comment on Amethyst’s worth to the team, even if it felt like it sometimes, more that Garnet was nothing if not a tactful thinker, having the ability to see into multiple futures at once certainly helped that. She could trust Pearl and Amethyst to go on their own for certain missions with the utmost of confidence, but she had been less willing to ever since Rose…

“Fine.” Amethyst said with defiance. “I’ll play babysitter.” She stepped off the Warp Pad and into the unfinished kitchen, leaning on the table bar as she watched the two Gems depart. Greg waved them goodbye and moved the baby’s little arm to wave as well. Amethyst looked down at the curly haired little devil. It wasn’t that she hated him, not at all, she couldn’t help but smile at him even now, there was just an unavoidable pain that came along with it. Something in her gut that told her that something was all wrong. She didn’t like to admit it, but she knew very well what that feeling was. Staring into his little eyes that looked back up at her with unhindered joy, she forced the smile to continue as that pain crept into her again.

“Oh shoot,” Greg said after he’d glanced at his watch, “my shift’s gonna start soon.” He planted the baby into Amethyst’s arms, and he began to squirm ever so slightly. Something about the material of her light-violet tunic seemed to upset him every time she held him for long periods of time (or at least that’s what Pearl had told her). She went to the couch and sat him down next to her on it, listening to Greg fumble around frantically up the little wooden stairs, where the baby’s bed would eventually be.

“I left it up here somewhere,” she could hear him say aloud. She glanced up at him and then back down to the baby, who was staring at her expectantly. She rolled her eyes as a smirk made its way to the corners of her lips. She covered her eyes with her hands and said in a sing-song voice.

“ _Where’s Steven_?” She uncovered her eyes abruptly. “AH! THERE HE IS!!!” The baby, little Steven Universe, laughed with the greatest of glee. She covered her eyes again.

“ _Where’s Steeeeeeveeeeen_? AH!” More laughter, it was contagious. She covered her eyes once more. “ _Where’s Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeen_?” This time she drew out the suspense. Waiting for almost a minute to find out once again that Steven was in fact sitting about an inch in front of her. Steven himself seemed impatient for the wait, cooing and beginning to crawl over to her legs, reaching up to touch her hands. “THERE HE IS!” Steven fell back as Amethyst recoiled her hands to her side again, revealing, where her normal face should have been, an elephant’s face blowing its trunk very loudly. Steven fell into another giggle fit as well, not helped when Amethyst reached over and began to tickle his body with her trunk.

“Amethyst I appreciate you-AGH!” Greg nearly tripped as he came down the bottom step, not taking her pachyderm appearance as well as his euphoric son. “Oh, jeez. Please, Amethyst, don’t surprise me with your shapeshifting like that.”

“Well I didn’t do it for you.” Amethyst said, reverting her head back to its usual form.

“Anyway,” he said as he caught his breath, “thanks for staying behind and watching Steven. I know you didn’t want to.”

“Whatever.” Amethyst said with as much indifference as she could fake.

“I’ll be back around the usual time.” He had just been putting the finishing touches on his… ‘uniform.’ “Be a good boy for her Steven.” The baby leaned his head back and smiled at his dad, not because he understood a single thing he had just said, but because he too had donned an elephant’s face.

“Wish I could just put this stupid thing on at work,” Greg said to himself as he walked out the door and down the sand hill, his string tail almost getting stuck in the door before he remembered and pulled it to his side quickly (“Never forget,’ eh?” she heard him say). The silence that Amethyst had so desperately wanted when she first greeted Steven had finally come, and now she hated it. She slumped backwards into the cushions of the couch, too lazy to try and get some sleep, and too far away from the kitchen to fix something up (there was barely anything good in the fridge anyway, unless you were about two). She looked down at Steven who had turned his attention from the door back to her.

“Poo-poos.” He managed to say. It was one of the few barely passable words he had managed to learn that probably meant nothing given his freshly clean rear, but she smiled and said in agreement.

“Yeah. You said it.”

**  
**

**Morning**

           

The sun trudged along its fixed path in the sky as the golden-pink haze of dawn gave way to the common shade of teal that engulfed the earth. It was late morning, a bit too early for lunch but not too late for breakfast, when Amethyst had decided to take her two-man show on the road. The incomplete beach house could only give her so much entertainment (what with the TV still not plugged in anywhere) and Steven wasn’t allowed in the Temple at this age. How frustrating being that young must have been. She wondered how anyone could stand having nothing to do but suck and bite on anything within arm’s reach and have to have someone feed and clean you without preserving even a shred of your own dignity. But then it seemed to have some perks to it too. No one cared when Steven fell asleep several times a day, and having everyone at your unquestionable beck and call definitely appealed to her. It was a mixed bag, perhaps, and she couldn’t really ask Steven how he felt about it. Greg had said he wouldn’t have a full vocabulary until he was a little older.

So he couldn’t exactly object or agree to when Amethyst got out the stroller Pearl had personally fashioned out of some old junk from her room when she was unsatisfied with the safety of a store-bought stroller, and took him for a little walk. It was an ugly thing, air painted to resemble the color pink, but the nature of some of the composed materials and the cheap paint they bought gave it an overall shade of puce. It functioned well enough, the only noticeable flaw being a wheel that seemed to sputter around endlessly at the front, and Steven didn’t seem to care about riding in it, but Amethyst hated having to push it around. She didn’t exactly have a rep to keep among the majority of Beach City but she had a little pride at least. She could see some of the people out of the corner of her eye giving the putrid stroller a double take, probably whispering to themselves, “why would you put your son in that,” or “where’d that come from the dump,” (she would not argue this) or most likely “what happened to that girl’s skin?”

Luckily Steven was cute enough that if people glanced at them a second longer they would be immediately distracted by the squishy lump currently sucking on a binky with all the contentment a not-quite-two year old could have in the world. There were two kinds of people, she’d found, who reacted accordingly when they saw a baby. The kind that gave a brief but sincere, “oh what a cute baby,” before going about their business, and the kind that stopped you dead in your tracks to fawn over it and beg you to hold it or pinch its cheeks like they were dying and you had the only cure. They both annoyed her to varying degrees but she couldn’t exactly blame them, Steven was way too cute for his own good.

It would have been a fairly average day for early spring were it not for the dreaded humidity that came along with it. Heat didn’t bother Amethyst though (at least not the degree of heat that caused most humans to break into puddles of sweat) and perhaps some of the brief looks people threw their way were for the wonder of why someone would wear a long-sleeved shirt on a day like this. Ultimately apathy won out (as it did) and Amethyst didn’t really care what humans thought about her or the hideous stroller she was pushing. The only thing she did care about was what she was going to eat.

Food, much like sleep, was an unneeded commodity for Gems, but Amethyst loved it regardless. The flavors that tinged in her mouth with each bite or gulp, the feeling of something falling down her throat and into her stomach. It was often weird to think about, how these forms they had chosen functioned the same way as humans did. Food passed through the usual way and sometimes exited the usual way (that part of the process she preferred to skip), and there was one time when she had surprisingly eaten too much and the food came back out of her mouth in a strange gooey substance that felt awful to release. Eating too fast could give her strange cramps as well in her stomach, and there were certain things in general that you could not eat at all without suffering severe consequences (though she ate them anyway). It was a strange thing, eating, and she reveled in it.

There were several eateries to choose from on the general street of the eastern side of town. Close to the edge of the large hill leading up to the lighthouse a donut shop was approaching the end of its construction and a little ways down the road you had a pizza and a fry joint. She had to admire how humans had worked their food service down to an almost science. Quick and easy, you order it and they give it to you in under five to ten minutes, just the way she liked it. The hard part came from all the extra choices you had to make. Not only did you have to decide where you wanted to eat, but also what you wanted when you got there, and then they gave you mini-choices once you got where you wanted after you’d decided what you wanted. “Ketchup,” “No,” “Extra secret sauce,” “Sure,” “Want to make that large for a dollar more,” “What do you think,” “Here or to go,” “Just shove it in my mouth for me.” It was a tedious process but all the more worthwhile when that first magical bite occurred and all was right in the world.

She’d decided on the little restaurant that specialized in french-fries, owned by a guy who might as well have been a part of the restaurant’s theme come to life. His yellow hair buzzed and straightened and his build resembled something of a large drink: broad on the top and skinny as you went down.

“What’ll you have?” He said in a cheerful manner.

“Gimme the bits,” Amethyst ordered, it was her usual, adding hastily, “and an ice cream cone.” She reached into her pockets and produced what she hoped was enough currency. The man took it and handed her back a dollar and a few extra cents (if this had been a few years ago she would have skipped payment and snuck in through the back for a more personal takeout, but she made a promise not so long ago that she’d stop that kind of activity that she begrudgingly tried to keep).

“Coming right up,” the man smiled and called out in the back room. “Fire up the ice cream machine Ronaldo!… Ronaldo!… Where’d he get off to this time…” He disappeared into the back for a few minutes and came back with a freshly made ice cream cone in hand, returning again in about a minute with some fry bits. “Here ya go, come again! Ronaldo! What have I told you about messing with the TV wires?! … And I already told you lizard people aren’t broadcasting secret messages to each other!...”

Amethyst had made short work of the fry bits and was now licking the ice cream lazily. She was sitting on a little bench next to a water spigot a short walk away from the fry restaurant, Steven still in the stroller next to her. She looked off into the horizon, and at the seagulls swooping down trying to grab a fish near the surface. She wondered how the other Gems’ mission was going and if they had found something interesting or not. She was half grateful, though she would never admit it openly, that she didn’t have to go with them. Back to that familiar place that was not all that far from town, a place that haunted her whenever she thought of it, and she thought of it a great deal. She couldn’t help but feel there was another reason Garnet had wanted her to stay behind with Steven though. That since they were going back to investigate that place she wanted to keep her away from it. Coddle her, it almost seemed. She didn’t need the special treatment, she hated that place as much as they did, hated its history and what it symbolized, hated the kind of symbol it had made her, but she wasn’t deathly afraid of it. She could still set foot in it at least. Garnet didn’t have to do her any favors.

She sighed in exasperated exhaustion. “Boring day huh lil dude?” She asked the baby who was still sucking his binky. From the way he seemed to sway in his seat and the extra gusto he seemed to put in his teething he didn’t seem to share her sentiment. She chuckled softly, reaching down to ruffle his curly hair. She ruffled a bit too quickly and the binky fell to his side at the bottom of the seat. Steven looked down at it for a moment but did not cry, merely smacked his lips and surveyed his surroundings. His gaze stopped on what was still in Amethyst’s hand, the ice cream had begun melting ever so slowly and a bit of it had trickled down her hand. He stared at a particular trickle that dripped softly to the ground every so often.

Amethyst grinned. Steven’s love of ice cream seemed even stronger than her entire love of food put together. Pearl would heavily object to it but she wasn’t here to give an hour long lecture.

“Here, just a little.” She held the cone in front of Steven’s face who steadied himself on her arm as he took a big drooly bite of the ice cream. His face was totally smeared as she pulled the cone away gently, Steven looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself as the cold and sweet sensation still lingered in him. She looked down at the cone, an entire half of it coated in his saliva now. She gave a shrug to the horizon before taking a big bite of it herself. She quickly finished it after that, licking her fingers and using the bottom of her tunic to clean Steven up.

“So what now, huh?” Steven made some indistinguishable noise as if he were answering, but it didn’t help her much. She stretched herself as she continued to look out at sea. It was still morning, even though it wouldn’t be for very long, and her teammates probably wouldn’t be back until later on in the day. They had more than enough time on their hands to kill, they just needed to find the right method of murder.

Her thoughts wandered to another baby, although he probably wasn’t a baby anymore, probably not even a toddler. She’d been reminded of him earlier in the morning when Steven had been crying and how her sympathies went out to the mother of the baby she was currently thinking of. An old friend of hers who had made the most out of a cruddy ordeal. It had been a while since she’d paid her a visit, much to her own dislike.

“You up for a play date?” She asked Steven, who had only just begun missing his binky again.

 

Beach City was a huge misnomer. Sure it was on the beach, that much was true, but calling it a city was being more than generous. The population could fill out maybe five or six blocks in a regular city and the little peninsula the town sat on was barely the size of two football fields. Yet the housing in Beach City could fit a lot of people pretty comfortably, and the suburbs, for lack of a more appropriate term, were nothing if not decent.

There were neatly arranged houses all along the street. Wood-carved, sturdy and weather-worn, with chipped paint due to a storm or two but mostly from age. She pushed the stroller along these houses, gazing at them, left and right, trying to figure out which house was hers again. It wasn’t exactly her friend’s house, she could only afford to rent it (with Greg’s help, one of the reasons why construction on Steven’s room had been taking so long), but for how little she had to pay compared to other places it was livable. And speak of the devil there it was.

‘House’ was probably being more than generous as well. It was a small thing, barely the size of an apartment in the nearby city (an actual city), but like many of the houses it had a charm to it. Her friend had certainly added enough charm to it, with a little garden out front and the walls of the outside of the house painted in a variety of colors. She had always been the artsy-fartsy kind, it was one of the things Amethyst liked about her.

She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt as she approached the half-magenta front door, looking at the crimson-blue windows for a sign that she was even home. It had been a long time since she had seen her friend, she couldn’t even remember an exact date. She hadn’t meant to shut herself off after Steven was born but with all the babysitting and missions and trying to build a house of their own she had little time to go out for leisure anymore. If anyone could understand that it was probably her friend, but at least she had kept in close touch with Amethyst, even after she’d had her baby. Maybe it would be better if she left, went back to the Temple and waited for the other Gems to come back. But no, if there was one thing she hated more than guilt over being a cruddy friend, it was waiting.

She knocked on a patch of mint-emerald on the door. If anyone else had pretty much thrown every paint bucket they owned on their house it would look ridiculous but she had somehow made it work. She knocked once again. She could make anything work really, she had that kind of spirit that could turn even the dullest of inspirations into something great. One more knock and then she’d leave. After all she’d been her personal model for-

The door opened and a familiar face leaned out. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion before she realized she had to look down slightly and a Cheshire grin exploded onto her face.

“Amethyst!” Her voice was warm and inviting. Amethyst brought two fingers to her forehead in a sort of salute, grinning just as widely.

“Hey V.” Vidalia wasted no time pulling her in an embrace and beckoned her inside. She had almost closed the door when she realized Amethyst wasn’t alone.

“Is that who I think it is?” She gasped.

“You know it,” Amethyst stepped outside again to pull the stroller in, trying to ignore the fact that she had almost left him out on the porch. “Say whattup to Steven.” Vidalia crouched down to (she was the second type it turned out) fawn over the confused baby.

“He’s adorable!” She smiled down at Steven who eventually smiled back. It didn’t take much to make him smile, they were as contagious to him as his smiles were to others. Vidalia inspected him, almost missing the time when she had a baby of her own to love on, before her inspection passed on his belly button.

“Isn’t that…” She pointed at the pink gem pointing outwards from his stomach. It was strange that this little fact was one of the last things people noticed about Steven. That he was not quite as normal as first glance would have you believe (although smart people could probably gather that from whichever Gem happened to be pushing his stroller at the time). But Vidalia had known for some time that Amethyst and the other Gems were not the human definition of “normal,” and she had hung out with them enough to know that that particular gem on Steven’s navel belonged to someone else originally. Amethyst nodded and Vidalia said no more of the matter, choosing instead to change the subject.

“Come on in, I was just about to make some brunch.”

“Worried I’d leave without eating?” Amethyst remarked.

“Well now I’m more worried you’d eat one of my shoes if I didn’t offer you anything.” Vidalia quipped.

“You know me so well.” She shook her head as she walked into the main room of the house. It extended into a little kitchen area on the left hand side, a spacious (comparatively speaking) living room with a little TV in the corner, and three rooms down the hall past the TV’s right. Sitting in front of the TV, hardly taking his eyes off it, was a young boy, just a few years older than Steven. He turned to look at Amethyst and then turned back to his show without so much as an indifferent blink.

“Sour Cream?” She asked Vidalia, who looked up from the oven for a second and nodded.

“Been awhile since you saw him last, eh?” She prodded at some eggs in a pan as she talked. The twinge in Amethyst’s gut came back.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She rubbed her head awkwardly.

“About what?” Vidalia asked. “I ain’t holding a grudge on you if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I wouldn’t blame you.” Amethyst shrugged.

“Hey,” she pointed a wooden spoon at her, “don’t bring that in my house.”

“What?”

“Your bad vibes. Kick ‘em back out the door.” Amethyst smirked.

“Maybe we could add ‘em to the eggs. Spice ‘em up.”

“I’m on a diet.” Vidalia cracked another egg and poured its yolk in the pan.

“That was lame.”

“You’re lame.”

“Says the girl who literally said ‘bad vibes.’”

“There you go again.”

“You’re a hippie V!”

“Shut up.”

“You turned into a hippy!”

“I prefer ‘Madame Artisté.’” She said with a flair.

“A pretentious hippy!”

It went on like this for a good many minutes more. A back and forth banter that might as well have been its own language. Exchanged laughs, references of a joke they’d long forgotten the meaning to, an air of timelessness that nothing between them had changed. Vidalia had changed of course, Amethyst as well if only a little. When she first met her Vidalia wore a darker attire, leather jackets with spiked shoulders and a shirts with smiley faces whose eyes were crossed out. She had a much lighter complexion nowadays. Wearing a bright blue shirt and plain jeans with patches on them. Her cream-colored hair was as long as ever, if a bit less wild, and her fingers had smudges of technicolor on them, she’d been painting recently. For all that had changed about them every time they reunited after long periods of time it was effortless to catch up again. To slip back into their old routines like a coat you’d buried at the back of your closet that still fit you fine and probably the best out of all the ones you owned.

“How’d that date with fish-face go?” Amethyst asked over her eggs.

“Yellowtail?” Vidalia raised an eyebrow as she sipped some tea. Sour Cream had been called over for eggs as well but he asked if he could eat them in his room, a bit too shy to hang around this purple stranger whom he recognized but couldn’t place how for too long. “He’s a sweetheart.” She held her cup in an almost forlorn trance. “Kind of weird, but sweet. You know?” Amethyst chuckled as she slurped some egg into her mouth. Vidalia rolled her eyes facetiously.

“When was that first date,” Amethyst tried to remember, “Like, over a year ago? Have you gone on anymore?”

“A few,” seriousness crept back into Vidalia’s voice. “He’s away a lot though, as an apprentice fisherman.”

“You can apprentice in that?”

“You can do it for anything these days.” Vidalia shrugged. “He’s very fond of Sour Cream.”

“That’s cool.” Amethyst said. “How bout him?”

“He likes him fine. He mostly just stays in his room or watches TV all day.” She liked the kid more already. “All Yellowtail has to do is give him a cool seashell and he’ll be happy.”

“Hm.” Amethyst didn’t touch her tea, preferring to eat the tea bag as a sort of desert after her eggs.

“The only thing I can’t stand about him is the smell.” Vidalia said suddenly.

“Smell?”

“The fish smell, you know?” She had just taken the last bite of her own eggs. “I liked going with him to the docks for a while but I could never get over that smell. It’s like a bunch of fish swam up on shore and died on everything.”

“Makin’ him take ten showers before a date?”

“You know it.” The last of tea was gone in a final gulp as well.

“Well at least…” Amethyst thought, “You’re happy?” Vidalia looked up at her and her eyes seem to twinkle.

“Yeah, I am.” Amethyst knew first-hand how rough Vidalia’s life had been in the recent years. Having to raise Sour Cream alone, give up on her dreams of being a professional artist, take a job, two jobs, try and do right and give her son an easy life. And despite all odds she seemed to be doing pretty well for herself. And she could honestly say for the first time in a very long time, she was happy. Not overjoyed or in rapture, but happy. And that was all she needed.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you too.” She tilted her head in the direction of Steven, asleep in the stroller that was left near the couch in the living room.

“Oh yeah,” Amethyst laughed, “he’s a little monster.”

“He’s so cute Amethyst.” Vidalia doted.

“Yeah you’ve said like, 80 times.”

“How’s Greg, I bet he just loves him.” Amethyst’s face fell into an almost frown.

“He’s fine,” her previous jovial tone diminished. “Everybody’s been super busy trying to take care of Steven and build his room at the Temple.” Vidalia was quick to notice the change in her friend’s attitude.

“And how are you?”

“How am I what?”

“I dunno, holding up? After everything that’s happened? I haven’t seen you since before he was born.” The twinge returned. Vidalia of course didn’t meant to guilt Amethyst, never, but she didn’t have to.

“I don’t know V.” She hadn’t been more serious the entire day, maybe even year. Vidalia reached out her hand and placed it on Amethyst’s, smiling at her with reassurance.

“What’s up?”

Amethyst brought Vidalia up to speed on everything that happened after they’d last met. The build up to Steven’s birth, the joyous anticipation that every Gem felt at the once in a millennia occasion, the realization that in order for Steven to be born Rose would have to…

“Yikes.” Vidalia said. It was a massive understatement but it was all she could say. She’d heard about what happened to her, but she thought it was because of a difficult birth.

“So now it’s us and Steven.” Amethyst finished. Vidalia looked down at her ugly shag carpet, processing everything Amethyst said. They’d moved to the couch, closer to Steven, and now Amethyst was leaning against one of the arms, staring down at the still sleeping babe.

“I’m so sorry.” Amethyst waved her hand.

“It’s fine.” No it wasn’t. “We’ve all gotten over it.” No they hadn’t.

“Amethyst,” Vidalia wouldn’t have it, “how do you feel, really?” She sighed. A basic answer was never enough for Madame Artisté. She looked down at Steven, listening to his tiny breathing, a trickle of drool falling down his chin.

“He is cute isn’t he?” She said as she pet his hair. “I love hanging out with him. I love how he laughs at my dumb jokes. How he lights up when I shapeshift. How he doesn’t look at me any differently than the others.” Her voice trailed off. Vidalia stared at her with nothing but sympathy. “That’s why I hate how every time I’m around him, every time I’m alone with him, I just feel like he…”

“Like what?” What she wanted to say was right on the tip of her tongue, a prisoner waiting for release. And however much it pained her, she had to unlock the cell and finally set it free.

“I can’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“This!” Amethyst threw her arms up as she continued to look at Steven. “I can’t do it!” She fought back the tears that were starting to fall. “I’m not like Garnet or Pearl or Greg even! They’ve got it all figured out! I don’t even know how to change his diaper!” Vidalia was going to say something but Amethyst continued. “When I said good morning to him today he started crying. I picked him up and tried to calm him down but he just kept screaming. He never likes it when I hold him. Good thing cause I’d probably drop him eventually.” She shook as she tried to keep from screaming herself. “I don’t know anything about taking care of somebody! I’m not right for it! Steven doesn’t need me and he’ll never need me! Between Garnet and Pearl he’ll be set for life! I could never give him what he wants. I’d just screw it up and everything she did for him would be screwed up! Everything I promised her would…”

“Amethyst, you’re just scared. I understand-”

“NO YOU DON’T!” She erupted finally. They both jumped at the sudden outburst and Amethyst was immediately sorry for it. Steven stirred at the noise and began to cry. Amethyst looked down at him but remained in her seat, burying herself in her hands, content to slip away into the darkness and out of everyone’s lives forever. She was brought back into the light when she felt a reassuring hand on her knee. Vidalia patted it then pointed at Steven wordlessly. Amethyst nodded and Vidalia moved to lift Steven from the stroller and into her arms, bouncing him as she sat back down to Amethyst’s side.

“You know before Sour Cream was born,” she said as she stared at Steven, “I had panic attacks that kept me up every night, and nightmares when I did manage to get some sleep.” Amethyst wiped her eye quickly. “I was so… petrified about it. Being a mom. I was not the kind of person a mom should be. A mom wouldn’t make the mistakes I made, wasn’t the kind of person I was.” Steven began to settle in her arms. “I’d love telling you that once he was born everything clicked but it didn’t stop. I still had horrible anxiety. He cried nonstop for hours, didn’t like it when I held him, I started wondering if maybe I wasn’t right for him. That he’d be better off… with someone else.” Her eyes seemed to water as well.

“But I couldn’t do it.” She sighed. “It was probably selfish but I couldn’t give him up. On those days when he’d be this little angel and he’d fall apart in my arms, I felt better about myself than I ever did before. And as he got older I got better. I started recognizing why he was crying, what he needed, the foods he liked, how he liked to be held… and it got better.” She looked at Amethyst. “It didn’t get easy. It’s still not easy,” she laughed, or maybe cried a little. “But it’s better.” Amethyst stared at her and then at Steven. That pain in her chest, reminding her how wrong she was for Steven, felt distant somehow. It wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t as dominant over her as it had been this morning.

“Why don’t you hold him?” Vidalia offered. Amethyst seized up, her eyes bulging as they met Steven’s. He looked at her no differently than he had the entire day, with all the things that made him who he was. Happiness. Playfulness. Love…

She sighed and held out her arms. Vidalia carefully placed Steven in them and Amethyst held him. As if on cue, he began to squirm and Amethyst frowned.

“Hold him closer to you.” Vidalia said. “Support his head.” Amethyst obeyed and brought Steven closer to her chest, placing a hand on his tiny head. He squirmed a little more for what felt like an eternity but finally, against all the odds that she would bet, he began to relax. He smacked his lips, as he did when he was tired, and looked at Amethyst. His hands reached out and grabbed onto her tunic for comfort, brushing against the purple gem on her chest half hidden by it.

Amethyst gave a single laugh, letting the tears flow without shame. Vidalia beamed as she watched the spectacle, and Amethyst beamed brighter. Her eyes fell upon the familiar gem once more, the smile on her face fading slightly as she thought of who it had belonged to before. What she would say if she saw her like this, or if she would be proud of her in any way. Proud of the little stray she had found and how far she had come. Those thoughts subsided as Steven’s soft breathing returned and he fell asleep, the calmest he had ever been in her arms.

“You’re a natural.” Vidalia bumped her shoulder with her fist.

“Yeah, I guess.” She sniffed and rubbed her eyes on the shoulder Vidalia had bumped. They went back to talking, quitter now that Steven had become a third party. Past exploits, minor details, and personal in-jokes that they’d missed over breakfast, until eventually Amethyst glanced over at the clock and realized it was a quarter to one.

“Don’t be such a stranger,” Vidalia said as her hand rested on an aquamarine-silver patch on her front door. “Come and visit more often!”

“You’d better have plenty of eggs for me.” Amethyst warned.

“Yeah, or I’ll just buy an extra pair of shoes.” They laughed and shared a final embrace before Amethyst pushed the stroller back down the pseudo-suburbia streets. Steven was still asleep and Amethyst still hated to push that hideous stroller around, but a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A weight she couldn’t totally cast aside but it was much easier to carry than it had been before. There were some things that couldn’t be fixed immediately, she would learn that more and more, but that didn’t make them permanently broken. And as she headed back for the Temple, on this humid early spring day, she leaned over a tad to look at Steven, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. She had promised a lot of things to Rose before he was born, and now she would make one to him.

“I’ll do right by you little dude.” She told him. “Count on it.”


	3. Afternoon

A bright cone of light beamed down onto the Warp Pad before vanishing just as quickly, leaving only Garnet and Pearl standing at its center, in the middle of conversation as they often were.

“-but the Kindergarten hasn’t been active for thousands of years. And we ensured all possible remote access from Homeworld was cut off before-”

Pearl’s attention was brought to Amethyst, who was spread out on the couch, arm dangling off the side and hair in a frizzled mess, asleep as expected.

“Oh honestly.” Pearl groaned. “She sleeps more than he does.” Steven was in his crib, in as deep a slumber as the purple Gem. Garnet said nothing but stepped into the beach house, placing a hand on the crib and smiling at the sleeping baby. She turned her head and called out to the other sweet dreamer.

“Amethyst, wake up.” Amethyst stirred but merely turned her back to them.

“Amethyst!” Pearl strode past Garnet and began nudging the smaller Gem. “Really how long have you been sleeping?”

“Not long enough.” Amethyst said without looking at Pearl.

“Oh come on!” Pearl began shoving her with a bit more force. “You can’t just lay here all day. How was Steven? Did anything happen to him? Is he hungry? Does he need his diaper changed? Oh now he’s crying! Amethyst!” The purple Gem finally turned over to face Pearl, who was barely visible through her long white hair. Steven had indeed begun crying, no doubt as peeved to be brought out of his nap as she was.

“He was fine until you showed up.” Pearl pouted and made a noise in her throat. She was about to make her way to the crib when Garnet proved a few steps ahead of her, picking up Steven who immediately stopped crying as she held him.

“He’s hungry.” She said without a shred of doubt (how could she be wrong).

“Oh of course,” Pearl said, “let me just-”

“And he needs a bath.”

“Oh. Well, Greg washed his, ahem, bottom earlier this morning.”

“Ya mean BUTT!” Amethyst cried abruptly, earning a glare from Pearl.

“A proper bath.” Garnet explained. “It’s been too long.”

“And you want me to do it?” Amethyst yawned. “Just gimme a second.”

“No, thank you Amethyst, you’ve done more than enough today.” Amethyst sat up, surprised at this but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth (she’d made that painful mistake more than a handful of times, dumb horses).

“Yes, a changing of the guard is more than welcome.” Pearl said expectantly. “I’ll get all the dishes out of the sink and-”

“I’ll give him his bath.” Pearl’s heart sank for the second time that day.

“What?”

“I need you to inspect that… issue we discussed earlier.” Garnet said. It wasn’t a very serious matter, just some unusual behavior in the Temple (which was saying something), and anyone could sort it out. Which was why Pearl was hoping Garnet would take care of it herself. Trying her best to hide her disappointment Pearl bowed her head.

“I’ll attend to it right way” Garnet bowed her head in return, holding Steven’s little arm in her gem embedded hand as he tried to grab her sunglasses.

“And I’ma take a nap.” Amethyst announced to no one in particular. She hopped off the couch and slumped to the Temple Gate.

“But you just took a nap!” Pearl yelled to her back. The gate sealed itself shut before she had finished her sentence. “I don’t even know sometimes…” she carried a whole conversation with herself before she too disappeared into some other part of the Temple, leaving only the tallest and shortest Gems alone.

Garnet looked down at Steven and gave a wider smile than she’d given all day. “Hello Steven.” She beamed. The baby cooed in response (if you chose to see it that way) and Garnet removed her sunglasses, preferring to have an unadulterated view of him. “You’re a smelly little one.” Her voice was as monotonous as ever but with a softer inflection. As if she were almost singing. “I think you’d like a bath wouldn’t you?” Steven grabbed hold of Garnet’s sunglasses and placed one of the edges in his mouth. She chuckled lightly as she passed a hand over her shades, making them disappear much to Steven’s bewilderment.

“Come on then, let’s get you clean.” In truth she knew it as well as Pearl that that “issue” in the Temple could have been easily handled by her in less the time it would take Pearl to do it. But it was also a truth that Garnet had wanted Steven to herself from the moment she stepped back into the beach house. Selfish perhaps, but as she looked down with three tender eyes at Steven she couldn’t help but allow herself this one selfish moment.

 

 

**Afternoon**

           

There were about 73,647,228,423 possible futures Garnet could see on any given day (give or take a decimal point). The future stretched into multiple different threads that could be unraveled depending on which path you took, and each unraveled thread added a new string of other threads, and others, and others until you had a multitude of different outcomes. The simple act of choosing whether or not to drink a cup of coffee (which was most often “not” for her given her indifference towards most human food and beverages) laid out thousands upon thousands of alternate timelines for any given person. As such she focused her mind on the near future instead of the distant. If she were to wrack her mind she could probably see very far into the future until she had solved every mystery that had perplexed the minds of humans for centuries (like she hadn’t already) but it was best not to focus too much on those distant events. So rather than concentrating on something like the storm that would destroy the beach house (again) in about two weeks’ time she instead concentrated on the outcome of her afternoon tending to the now naked baby splashing around in the sink.

If all went according to one timeline she would clean Steven thoroughly, dry him off thoroughly, feed him lunch thoroughly, burp him thoroughly, and Greg would come home to take over mediocrely. And according to another timeline she would have to save Steven before he drowned himself in the makeshift bath, choked on some stray food that refused to go down his digestive tract, clean up herself after she burped him just a bit too rough, and Greg would come home to take over mediocrely. And then there was another timeline where a meteorite would crash down to earth directly in front of the Temple, an army of Midget-Geodes would emerge from said meteorite, steal Steven, take them back to their home planet to be sacrificed, Garnet would rescue him and beat up the Geodes very thoroughly, she would return them both home, and Greg would come home to take over mediocrely.

Yes, the future was never set in stone, so Garnet never worried too much about one timeline over the other. But her future vision, powerful as it was, was not without its blind spots. For all the possible futures she could see there was still room for someone like Steven to surprise her. And that he did, constantly. Being a baby certainly helped his unpredictability, and being the first Crystal Gem of his kind, a complex and amazing hybrid of human and Gem, also didn’t hurt. As he sat in the sink, mindlessly playing with the bubbles that rose from the water (how strange that some humans couldn’t clean themselves without the entertainment of bubbles) she could see all the different ways he might react. All the things he could do while trying desperately to take hold of a bubble that kept popping or slipping away from his grasp. And yet what he ultimately did do was something very far along the line of a certain thread. She responded quickly enough, grabbing him and holding him over the trashcan just in time for that disgusting bile to pour out of his mouth. A bit of it fell on her feet and lower legs, but most of it had fallen safely, and somewhat gracefully, into the plastic bag in the bin.

“Amethyst gave you ice cream again didn’t she?” He hiccupped only once and blinked at her. Garnet wiped away a small strand of vomit from his lower lip and flicked it into the trashcan. She would have a talk with the purple Gem later on, maybe between the burping and Greg coming home according to one timeline, but for now she returned Steven to his watery throne (thankful that it had not been like one timeline where she had not been fast enough and the whole bath would have to be drained and started again).

“We told her about that before.” Garnet thought to herself as she washed her own hands. It was a distinct voice that was not her own, abrasive and booming in tone. “Didn’t we tell her about that before?”

“You know how it is with her.” Garnet thought in a different voice. Calmer and more in tone with Garnet’s reserved way of speaking. “Nothing resonates for too long.”

“No excuse.” She took a moment to shine the gem on her right palm, having half a mind to kiss it, which the other half denied sadly. She went to work on Steven, scrubbing him softly, taking care to keep the soap out of his eyes. “She knows he’s got a sensitive stomach.” The corner of Garnet’s lips perked.

“He’s fine now.” She lifted Steven’s left arm to get his armpit. “Just a little queasy.”

“That was more than a little.”

“He’s been worse.”

“He could be getting sick.”

“He’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we _would_ know.”

“We didn’t see him barfing until five seconds before it happened.”

“You can’t see every possible thing at once.”

“I know!”

“Then why are you so reactionary right now?”

“I’m not-hey don’t put that in your mouth.” Garnet pulled the bottle of bubble bath mix out of Steven’s hands and placed it on the counter. “I just wanna make sure he’s okay, that’s all.”

“And he is.”

“Well I’m sorry if I don’t always have your cockiness.”

“You’re one to talk.” This had been meant as a joke but her other half didn’t seem to note the humor. In a human’s case having two voices chatter among themselves in your mind is not often seen as a desirable trait. And perhaps if Garnet were more vocal about these voices that made her her, someone might eventually try to lock her away out of sight and out of mind from the rest of “normal” society in a misguided attempt to help. But she had no need to let others know about these two voices. Everyone important to her already knew and she never saw it as that perplexing a matter. They were her core, and she was her own unique Gem. “An experience,” is what she had called it. That was all there was to say about that.

As it was the two voices remained silent, focused solely on washing Steven. Getting all the muck and filth achieved from all that crawling around out of every crack and crevice of his small pink body, until all that would be left was a soft little-

“What’s that fluffy thing you put on a-”

“Marshmallow.” -marshmallow.

It was amazing how filthy Earth really was, and how Garnet hadn’t noticed or really cared until Steven was born. All of them, mostly Amethyst, had gotten into more than their fair share of dirty escapades in their long existence but cleaning themselves proved effortless. In her case all it took was a bit of mind power and whatever it was that sullied her would be cast away without even having to touch a washcloth. The other Gems had their own method of cleaning themselves (one doing it infrequently and the other perhaps a bit too frequently) but Steven was too fragile at this state to even think about cleaning himself properly. Even more amazing than how dirty Earth was had to be how dependent human children were. Especially babies.

Gems were complex beings in their own right (complex enough to share more than a few traits with humans and other various races across the universe) but their method of self-preservation was simple. You were born from a gemstone, you manifested your own physical form to match your personality and attributes, and all the nourishment you needed was provided for you from your gem. She thought, as well as the other Gems, that Steven would gain nourishment the same way, but it had been nothing like a typical birth of a Gem. Steven had entered the world in a much different fashion, and on a physical level he seemed to have more human traits than Gem.

All except for the pink stone on his stomach. Garnet washed it, giving it more of a shiny glimmer than she had her own gems. It was important to keep your gem in pristine condition. Humans could be killed in many ways, all of them resulting in a permanent end, but Gems were a bit more durable. They could be injured, they could be beaten to within an inch of their lives, but as long as their gemstone was safe and unblemished they could be rejuvenated. So far they had not been able to see how Steven might react to any serious physical pain that required such an act, and if she had anything to say about it he never would.

“Oh.” She gasped as Steven accidentally splashed her. She laughed softly and flicked her fingers in the water to splash Steven in return.

“Watch his eyes.” Her calmer half thought.

“Now who’s being reactionary?”

When she was satisfied, which was the point when Steven’s skin felt like you could slide him across the floor (never in a million years of course), she drained the sink and dried him off with a little towel.

“That hair of yours.” She said aloud. Even when it had just been washed and shampooed it was wild. She ran her hand through it, feeling the bristles of his curls, listening to him almost purr in response. He loved feeling someone run their hand through his hair, it relaxed him whenever he had an incredibly bad fit. When something frightened or saddened him Garnet’s go-to response was to trace her hand down his scalp, letting him feel the smoothness of her fingers, and the surface of either of her gems which felt even smoother. His hair reminded her so much of his mother’s. Equally as wild and with more than a few curls of her own. Greg’s hair had been a sight to behold in his day as well. Perhaps it was a trait they had both passed on to him.

“Now then,” She said after she had dried him off and adorned him with a new diaper. “Let’s see about lunch.”

 

There wasn’t a lot variety to the meals Steven could have at this age, nor could he really pick them out for himself. The refrigerator had been stockpiled with all types of baby formulas and milk, and the cabinets in turn were filled with packets that were easily prepared meals appropriate for infants. Steven’s teething had become a source of a lot of fussiness when it came to his meals, vastly preferring the liquid variety. If anyone could get him to eventually bite the bullet (or in today’s case, veggies and chicken) it was Garnet. You couldn’t find a more stern Gem this side of the cosmos. Amethyst barely had any restraint over what _she_ ate and Pearl, well-meaning as she was, couldn’t help but spoil Steven rotten half the time. No, Garnet could wear Steven down with enough patience. Everyone has their breaking point, no matter how stubborn they are.

“Come on Steven.” She coaxed, holding a spoonful of chicken and peas inches from his mouth. “Open up wide.” Steven watched her move the spoon in an almost hypnotic state but refused to open his mouth. If he did have a say in what he could eat chicken and peas hadn’t been his first choice.

“Jeez this kid,” Her abrasive half thought. “There’s starving Gems in Homeworld!”

“Wait.” Her calmer half thought.

“I don’t mind waiting, it’s the pickiness that gets me.”

“You can be picky.”

“Yeah but I don’t _need_ to eat.”

“He will. Just wait.”

“Try the plane thing.”

Garnet began making strange buzzing noises to accompany the slow tracing movement of the spoon. She buzzed as loud and theatrically as she could but the cockpit wouldn’t give the OK to land.

“Hm, that usually always works.” Her abrasive half groaned. “You know what it is,” she offered, “it’s what the others feed him.”

“You mean the formulas?”

“Yeah! When he doesn’t eat this stuff they give up and go for the bottle like nothing!”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“How is he supposed to get stronger just eating mush?”

Her calmer half had to agree. Steven wouldn’t be teething forever and he needed to start eating more solid foods. His baby teeth were coming in fairly quickly for his age and they needed all the exercise they could get. Garnet moved the spoon closer to Steven’s mouth who jerked his head away violently, a pout etched onto his face that she would consider adorable were it not for the circumstances.

“Come on.” She moved the spoon to meet his lips but he kept shaking his head.

“No!” Steven yelled in a squeaky voice. One of the first proper words he had learned (as it was for most babies).

“Steven.” Her voice was becoming more serious again. Steven wasn’t having any of it.

“No!” He knocked the spoon out of Garnet’s hand and they both watched it fall to the floor, scattering the peas across the room. Garnet frowned and moved her three eyes from the fallen silverware to Steven who was unable to look at her for too long. She pushed her chair back, marching over to pick up the spoon and then to wash it off at the sink.

“That little punk.” Her abrasive half thought.

“He is being incredibly difficult today.” Her calmer half agreed. “We’ll have to think of some other way to make him eat.”

“We could get one of those crowbar things and prop his mouth open.”

“WHAT?!” Her calmer voice echoed in the recesses of Garnet’s mind. She hadn’t raised her voice like that in a long time.

“Kidding, I was just kidding! Sheesh.”

Garnet returned to her seat opposite of Steven’s highchair. She dipped the spoon in the little bowl and stirred it around, staring at Steven as she did. It was as though they were playing a phantom game of chess, this thousands of years old Gem and this not-two year old infant, caught in a battle of wits and endurance. Garnet was patient in her approach, but Steven was stubborn, and there were few forces on Earth as strong as a stubborn baby.

She scooped another spoonful of chicken and peas and slowly tried bringing it to Steven’s lips but he recoiled his head as if a snake were leaning in to bite him. There were a few timelines to consider for the outcome of this standoff. One had Garnet giving up and getting out one of the baby formulas for Steven to drink, and that wasn’t likely. Another had her going out to the boardwalk and buying some other human food for him to try, and she wouldn’t poke half that food with a stick. Another had Pearl poke her head in and try to take over, micro-managing and critiquing even the way Garnet held the spoon.

“Hey Garnet I was just-”

“We’re fine, Pearl.”

“Oh, okay.” Garnet didn’t look away from Steven as she heard the Temple Gate shut itself.

There were certain tactics that Greg used when he couldn’t get his son to eat. One of them being pretending to eat the food himself. “More for me,” he’d shrug and then position the spoon so that it looked like he was taking a huge gulp when in reality it was hidden by the side of his face. That trick had worked only a few times, either because Steven eventually figured out he was being tricked or he was grateful that someone else was eating it for him. It was from Greg where she learned the airplane trick, and the train, and the semi-truck backing up, and the bird coming in to roost, and the crooked politician trying to shred his incriminating documents. There were many variants to the same trick but if one didn’t work she doubted pretending to be this “Nixon” fellow would.

Although funny voices were often a useful tactic in the food wars Steven waged with them. Greg had a plethora of impressions and silly voices of his own, while someone like Amethyst could just shapeshift her face into some silly animal or other creature for Steven to laugh at (giving ample time to get some food in his mouth, but this proved dangerous when he almost choked from laughing and eating simultaneously). Garnet could shapeshift as well as Amethyst but her library of silly voices hadn’t made it to volume one.

“We could try stealing his nose,” Her abrasive half thought.

“How would that get him to eat?” Her calmer half asked.

“I dunno, trade back his nose for food?”

“A hostage situation?”

“It couldn’t hurt. Could it?”

Garnet briefly considered this but decided against it. Nose thefts were usually reserved for play time and she didn’t want Steven to think he was off the hook from eating.

“Well what’s your idea then, smart Gem?” Her abrasive side said.

“You don’t have to get frustrated.”

“I’m not!”

“Calm down.”

“I said already I was calm!”

“Take a moment and assess-”

“I JUST WANT HIM TO EAT SOMETHING ALREADY!”

As the storm raged inside of her Garnet sat stoically, watching the twenty-two pounds of infuriating adorableness in front of her. He must’ve been so proud of himself, thinking he’d beaten her, thinking he’d yet again gotten his way. If he did have any stream of consciousness he was probably laughing at her in his mind. “Knight to H3, check, your move.”

“Look at that smug smirk. He knows he has us on the ropes.”

“He’s a baby.” Her calmer half observed.

“He’s a Gem too! He’s probably way smarter than an average human baby!” A stream of drool fell down Steven’s lower lip.

“I have an idea.” Her calmer half said.

“You do?”

“I do. But it’s pretty drastic.”

“Whatever,” her abrasive half said, “I just want this to be done.”

It was often surprising which outcome the future led her to. The smallest of things could create an entirely different outcome for any one of the futures she saw on a daily basis, and a previously tossed aside timeline could end up being the savior of the day. In this case it was the timeline where Garnet would have to undo all her work giving Steven a bath not a half hour ago.

“Steven,” Garnet said placing the spoon on the table and nudging the bowl closer to him. She stood up and moved behind Steven in his highchair, taking his little arms in her hands and waving them around gently. “You’re my puppet now.” Steven looked at her in puzzlement but he did not jerk his arms away or squirm in his chair. He was limp in her grasp and allowed her to do whatever she wanted with him.

Garnet gasped and brought both of Steven’s hands to his cheeks, “Oh my!” Steven’s eyes darted to both his hands. “Look at aaaaaaaall this food.” Garnet guided his left arm in a swooping motion. “And it’s aaaaaaaall for me.” She pointed Steven’s hand to his chest, relinquishing her grasp on it slightly to tickle his exposed belly with two fingers.

“Where are you going with this?”

“Just watch…”

Garnet scooted the highchair closer to the table, she let go of his arm for a second to place the bowl of chicken and peas on the little tray of the chair. “I wonder what I should eat first?” Garnet asked as she brought Steven’s hand up to scratch his curly head. “The chicken? Or the peas?” In a swift motion Garnet brought one of his hands down into the bowl. Steven’s grin was a mile wide as the sticky grease of the chicken and the slime of the peas engulfed his little fingers. Garnet made circles in the bowl with his hand the same as she had the spoon and helped him close his fist. “Mmmmmm,” she hummed as she brought Steven’s hand to his mouth. “This looks sooooo good.” She had Steven unclench his fist (Bishop to H3, she was back in the game) and didn’t need to tell him to put the mushed mess of veggies and meat in his mouth. Chewing them a little before finally swallowing his first bite.

“Yum yum.” Garnet made Steven pat his stomach and repeated the process. Sticking his hand in the bowl and bringing it to his mouth. Bits of chicken and peas rolled all over him, staining his once clean body.

“This was your plan?” Her abrasive half asked.

“Yes.” Her calmer half answered.

“But he’s getting dirty again.”

“He would’ve gotten dirty on his own before too long.”

“I like the way you think.”

“I know you do.” If they could smile at each other they probably were. Before long Garnet didn’t even have to act the puppeteer, stepping back a few inches she let Steven go to town on the bowl and make a complete wreck of himself (Queen to A8, checkmate). She would have to prepare another bath but she didn’t mind. As frustrating as this whole ordeal was she always loved it. Loved watching this unique boy grow more and more with each day. All the trouble he would get himself into, all the melodrama he caused with every picky meal, it meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. All that mattered was him, and her mind was always united on that front.

 

Garnet sat on the couch with Steven, having burped him thoroughly, and now was waiting for Greg to return home. His shift had ended a few minutes ago, meaning he would be making his way either down the street to the right side of the beach, or take the left beach which was a shorter walk home, it depended on the type of day he had had. On good days he would be home in no time at all and on days that peeved him he liked to take longer walks, not wanting any of the day’s negativity to rub off on Steven. He still hadn’t appeared at the front door even after ten minutes had passed since his shift ended so it was probably a bad day (Garnet could vaguely see it in the morning when she had seen him; arguments with his boss, a rather neurotic mayoral candidate with an ugly van getting in a slight row with him about how to clean it, and his ‘uniform’ getting a new hole in the rear when he shut a car door on his tail).

Steven’s eyes were half shut and he was about to take his third nap of the day (roughly around the same time as Amethyst was). Garnet held him in her lap, passing a finger on his gemstone, so bright she could almost make out her own reflection.

“I’m sorry about before.” Her abrasive half thought suddenly.

“For what?” Her calmer half replied.

“Me being testy.” Steven moved a little so that he was facing her stomach. “I’m a real pain sometimes, and I know it.”

“Don’t apologize.” Her calmer half said. “I thought it was cute.”

“Cute?”

“You always get so passionate around him. So protective, so invested. It’s cute.” Garnet blushed.

“So you don’t think I’m pig-headed at all?”

“No.”

“That I’m too over-protective?”

“Never.”

“That I get hung up over the dumbest things?”

“…Well if you really want me to nitpick.”

If her two selves were on that couch instead of her there would be no end to the hand holding and cuddling close together, watching Steven drift off to sleep on their laps. But there was no need to separate, they were already together forever like this. It would take a Gem ten times the size of Garnet to ever split them apart.

Steven had just fallen asleep at this time. Garnet remained motionless as she watched him, fearing that even getting up to take him to his crib might wake him.

“Look at him.” Her abrasive half thought. “He’s beautiful.”

“Yes.” Her calmer half agreed as Garnet pet his hair. “Absolutely beautiful.”

The beach house was calm as she listened to the sea breeze whistle through it. She drew Steven closer to her so he wouldn’t get cold, still running her fingers through his hair, feeling the gem on her palm glide smoothly against him.

“What do you think she’d say? If she were here?” Her abrasive half asked.

“Rose?” There was a silence, as if her other half were nodding. “I think she’d be proud.”

“Proud?”

“Of the way we’re raising him. But if she were still here she’d probably hog him all to herself.”

“Yeah,” her abrasive half laughed. “She would.” Garnet gazed down at the pink gemstone with a forlorn stare. She hovered one of her own gems over it, almost touching it but not quite.

“I miss her.” Her abrasive half said.

“Me too.” Her calmer half was quieter than she’d been all day.

“Why did we get to stay here, looking after him? Why didn’t she get the chance?”

“She knew what she was doing. There was no way we could talk her out of it.”

“No. I guess not.” Garnet remembered that trying time all too well. When they had found out what Rose’s pregnancy meant for her, for her future. She had never asked her to forsake the baby, she knew Rose would never agree to that, but she had spent a long time trying to find some way to make sure they both could survive. All of them, them and Greg, they ran through every circumstance and every possible outcome, but it all added up to the same conclusion, and she was living it now. Rose was gone. Only Steven remained.

Steven. If there were any way to bring Rose back or to keep her from giving up her physical form for him she would leap at the chance. But not at the expense of the baby sound asleep in her lap. Perhaps it was selfish of her in a way. That she had been so adamant about trying to find a way to keep Rose alive and now that she was gone, she would never let anyone take Steven away from her. Not even Rose. Would she really be proud of who she was now? The Gem that she had become in so short a time since her departure? Maternal instincts came naturally to Rose, she had always been the kind of being that loved everything, saw beauty in the hideous and the broken. If she could see Steven now she would fall instantly in love with him, as she had. And she would never let him go, just as she wouldn’t.

“We’re crying.” Garnet was surprised to feel a tear fall between her eyes and down her nose. She wiped it away and dried her third eye. It was hard to keep them from falling, especially when Steven clung so tightly to her suit, yawning and smacking his lips. The most beautiful thing she had ever seen on Earth and the entire universe.

The door opened suddenly and Greg took a few weary steps inside. He still wore his ‘uniform’ but the head was in his left arm at his side. His brow was sweaty and he stank like a man who’d spent the last decade in a crypt. His face was uncharacteristically sullen until he noticed Garnet’s uncharacteristic tears.

“Are you okay?” She quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

“Yes.” She cleared her throat and passed her hand over her eyes, her sunglasses reappearing out of thin air. “Yes.” She repeated when she had composed herself. Greg looked at her sympathetically before heading up the stairs to Steven’s future bed and removing his outfit. Like a butterfly from a cocoon he emerged, leaving all the stink and sweat of a day’s work behind (he would have to take a five-hour shower later). Steven awoke as he came back down.

“Hey there little guy, long time no see.” He said something to the same effect every time he came home. Garnet passed him over to Greg who gently took him in his arms with an, “Upsy-daisy”, bouncing him as he walked to the kitchen to get himself something to eat. Garnet watched them both through her shades, her vision slightly darkened because of them but with a clear enough vision to see the tenderness between them. Greg whispering sweet-nothings in his boy’s ear, giving him a recap of his day, letting him have a nibble of the cheese in his sandwich. She often forgot the reason why Rose had become so taken with him in the first place, and as she watched him slip seamlessly into ‘dad mode’ after what was probably an agonizing day of work she was reminded.

Garnet moved to the Temple Gate, to see how Pearl was doing and to relieve herself from baby-duty. She wasn’t confident as to how Rose would look upon her now, but she was confident leaving Greg alone with his son. Her eyes never left Steven until the Temple Gate shut itself. She would see him again in just a few minutes, but she couldn’t help allowing herself this one selfish moment.


	4. Evening

“Have you fixed it yet?” Amethyst’s impatience had skyrocketed to the outer rim of the galaxy.

“This isn’t exactly easy you know.” Pearl said over her shoulder. She was on her knees in front of the table between the couch and Steven’s crib, fiddling with the knob on the little TV and posing the antenna wires every which way trying to find a signal. She didn’t have to be doing this, she didn’t see the point of television. Slowly wasting away staring at flickering images betraying your eyes, tricking you into thinking you’re seeing something more important than it really is. If Pearl could have her way they wouldn’t have a TV at all. But Greg had reasoned that Steven would need some kind of visual entertainment every so often as he got older, and that some of the shows the TV offered were very educational (she’d watched one before, strange puppet creatures with dead, unblinking eyes and bodies you never saw from the waist down, it was more unnerving than it was informative in her opinion).

So here she was, currently trying her hardest to make this dratted thing pick up a signal. Her mechanical mind had taken a liking to a lot of the intricacies of human technology. It was nowhere near as advanced as even their oldest of Gem tech, but humans had done well for themselves given how primitive some of their inventions were. She remembered when half the inventions in this room were only in the blueprint phase such as the TV in front of her or the stove in the kitchen (which she remembered specifically due to having a run-in with its creator, who made more than a few unwanted advances on her and the other Gems).

Amethyst was once again slumped over on the couch behind her, where there might as well have been a crease with her name on it. She watched Pearl fiddle with the TV as if she were watching an actual show. Her cheek rested on her fist, eyes passing from Pearl to the long cord that stretched to the nearby wall where an electrical socket had been drilled. In the kitchen Greg was feeding Steven some more baby formula after he’d refused his packet meal (“Don’t tell Garnet” he whispered to him beforehand) and Garnet had gone off to do a routine inspection of the Galaxy Warp. It was getting to be late in the afternoon and the sun was on a steady path down its spiral loop to the west. Sunset would likely occur in about an hour.

She didn’t really care about the sunset, it had lost its charm after the hundred and thirteenth viewing. What she did care about was what was on the tube that night. She’d gotten addicted to human television from hanging out with Greg and Vidalia and was anxious to see what became of the likes of Lil’ Butler when he found his birth parents on next Thursday’s episode. That wouldn’t happen if Pearl kept up this progress.

“Mmmmmmm-infernal-mmmmmm-darned-mmmmmm-puppets-” Pearl mumbled to herself as she gave the knob a fervent twist in several directions, mangling the antennae so that they resembled spider legs sticking out of a box. Finally a static image popped into frame. “Ahahahaha!” Pearl sang in triumph, “There it is!” She rearranged the antenna until the static had cleared and the picture quality was impeccable (for the time).

“‘Too Many People’ is filmed before a live studio audience.” The TV said.

“Ugh, not this show.” Amethyst whined.

“What?” Pearl asked as she placed a hand on the table to help herself off the ground. “What’s wrong with this show?” Pearl watched as the intro music faded out and a man in his mid-forties stepped through the front door of what was supposed to be a house but was obviously a studio stage.

“Honey, I’m home!” He declared to the thunderous applause of the spectral audience. In the reality of the show the only person present for his announcement was a little girl who could only be slightly older than Steven at the time it was filmed.

“You’re not married daddy!” The audience awed at the girl like she were a kitten and a puppy having a tickle fight with a dolphin.

“Gee,” her father said in exaggerated sadness, “thanks for reminding me.” The audience erupted into laughter and applause once more. Pearl looked inquisitively at Amethyst who stretched her arms out to the TV in a wordless “See?”

“Oooh, I love this show!” Greg said from the kitchen. The two Gems looked at him as if he’d just admitted to murder. He blushed and looked away from them as he burped Steven.

“But I don’t get it.” Pearl said as she scratched her chin. “Why did he call out for a spouse if he wasn’t married? Surely of all people he would know that?”

“Welcome to ‘Too Many People’ P.” Amethyst said. “Ya got three dudes, three girls, and one dog and the funniest this show ever gets is he ‘forgets’ his wife died before the pilot even happened.”

“Oh, that’s terrible!” Pearl gasped.

“AND THEY GAVE IT EIGHT SEASONS!” Amethyst screamed to the ceiling. Before it could give her an apology the cone of light over the Warp Pad returned and Garnet appeared (coincidentally right on cue with the audience applauding the appearance of Uncle Jimmy). Pearl was more than happy to be drawn away from the show and stood at attention in the center of the room.

“Everything the same?” She asked eagerly.

“Yes.” Garnet responded. “But there’s been some activity at the Jungle Warp.”

“Gooooo oooon?” Amethyst ripped her eyes from the screen (even with mindless fluff like ‘Too Many People’ she could hardly look away from a TV once it was turned on, maybe that was why it got eight seasons). They hadn’t been to the Jungle Warp in a long time, and whenever they did visit it, it meant something incredibly dangerous was happening. Much better than any lame TV show.

“Some new Gem Monsters have infested the area.” She referred to the beasts that they fought on a regular basis that most often shared a gemstone similar to their own (for reasons they didn’t dwell on for too long). They were often attracted to remote places far away from prying human eyes but if left unchecked they could cause a ruckus and endanger any human that happened to be within reasonable distance of it. It was important to find and contain these Gem Monsters as soon as they were found. But in areas like the Jungle Warp, that could prove a long hunt.

“So let’s go kick some butt!” Amethyst hopped off the couch and stretched her arms as she made her way to join Garnet at the Warp Pad. Pearl rolled her eyes at the obscene terminology but followed suit. Another ray of light encircled them and they were ready (and raring) to go. Until…

“Uh…” Greg called out before they could leave.

“Ugh, what now?” Amethyst groaned as the light dissipated yet again.

“I have to run to the store and get some more diapers. Plus some other stuff we need for construction.”

“Jeez man, hire a babysitter!” Amethyst would have said if Garnet hadn’t spoken first.

“All right. Pearl, you’re up.”

“Oh but Garnet, Amethyst already got to watch him this mor-wait what?”

Garnet smiled and laid a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “Yes Pearl,” she said knowingly, “you can stay.” Pearl did not understand what the big deal was behind holidays like Christmas, but when Garnet had said those words her eyes widened as if she’d received the best present nestled underneath that garish, fire hazard waiting to happen tree.

“THANK YOU!” She said louder than she’d intended. She cleared her throat and gave a more restrained, “Thank you, Garnet” before rushing over to Steven, practically snatching him from Greg’s arms.

“We’ll be back.” Garnet said as the light around them returned.

“Catch ya on the flip side!” Amethyst made that strange V sign with her index and middle finger before they were both whisked away from the Warp Pad. Pearl hardly noticed their departure as she grinned at the baby in her arms. Her eyes a bit watery from the realization that yes, this was finally happening.

“Well,” Greg said, “I guess you’ve got it covered.”

“Yes, yes, enjoy your shopping, we’ll be here.” Pearl waved him off with her hand without looking away from Steven.

“You know, if it was really important for all of you to be there I could just take him with me-”

“NO!” Pearl screamed internally, but some of her composure had returned since that first outburst. “No, thank you, I can manage.” Greg nodded. Of course he knew Pearl would take good care of Steven, the same as the other two, and he knew well enough not to try and get between her and him when she was like this. It had been a while since they were alone together he supposed. He donned a light jacket for the slightly colder night weather and stepped outside, leaving the beach house empty once more save for the two Gems caught in an almost staring contest.

“How do you like that Steven?” She asked in a strange voice most people reserved for small animals or babies. “It’s just you and me!” Steven had no way of understanding her fully, no matter what inflections she put in her voice, but he still smiled at her as she spoke. Maybe because he knew she tended to spoil him the most, or maybe because her outfit, from her tutu to her dance shoes, was bright and colorful (“Like a clown” is how he would describe it at the age of four), or that her presence in general was warm and loving, or maybe he just liked the way her nose was super pointy. Whatever the reason, her nose or her shoes, he stared into her eyes and smiled as brightly as he had all day for the other Gems.

“Miranda,” the TV father said, “why would you mail me valentines pretending to be somebody else?”

“Because I wuv you daddy.” The little girl responded, and the audience was putty in her hands. Pearl turned the knob and the TV shut off with a click.

“You’re much cuter.” She whispered to Steven.

 

 

**Evening**

           

The sun sank down its fixed path on the horizon, until it was almost completely submerged in the far off ocean. Of course the sun wasn’t actually sinking into the ocean, nor was it hiding behind the mountains, or past the hills, or anywhere else you happened to be on Earth. Pearl explained this to Steven as he mindlessly played in the sand. She didn’t expect him to comprehend the majority of the topics she spoke of but she had heard somewhere that babies retain certain information from when they’re very young and it stuck with them when they got older. Which is why she had a custom of relaying these topics to him while they listened to classical music, stemming from something she also heard that babies were likely to develop stronger cognitive brains while listening to the genre.

“The sun itself is merely a great big ball of gas, you see,” she said as they listened to Johannes Brahms (an interesting and somewhat underappreciated nowadays composer she’d met a few times) on the little portable radio Greg bought years ago. “A bright star closer than any other charted star known to humans. And according to human scientists in a few billion years it will die and expand the same as any star, engulfing the entirety of this galaxy along with it until there is absolutely no trace of the Earth or any of the other eight planets left in the cosmos. Don’t worry, we’d be long gone by the time that happens… I hope. But isn’t that intriguing?” Steven piled another mound of sand onto his first pile, digging his hands in it trying to make some strange sculpture. Perhaps she ought to teach him about architecture one of these days.

She’d brought him outside for two reasons. The first being that it was a beautiful sunset, as most were in Beach City, and she wanted to take in some evening sea air. It was good for Steven too, he could always find new ways to entertain himself in the sand. Some days she would take him close to the water to dip his feet in, taking unrivaled delight in how he would giggle when the tide ran past his toes. She could do without the sand that got everywhere and anywhere all over his body but it was the price you payed and it was minimal in the grand scheme of things.

This same scheme was the second reason she’d brought him out here. With the sun setting came the slow but sure arrival of the stars, masked from the naked eye by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. She could see some of them now in the magenta-tinted sky. Twinkling into view one by one until very soon the sky would be filled tiny white dots as far as the eye could see (and far beyond that).

She loved the view of the night sky. There were few things that calmed her more than the darkness of twilight. It reminded her of the vast reaches of space, a vacuum that stretched to infinity, with nothing but stars and distant planets from all across the universe as your guide. There were many planets like Earth and many lifeforms like humans, but there had always been something unique about this planet. At least when it came to the Homeworld’s attention of it. It was all their planning and iniquity that in turn brought Rose Quartz’s attention to it. Whereas her peers saw the Earth as something to exploit and use for their own progress, Rose saw something more, as she always did. She saw a vibrant and dynamic world, filled with unique and fascinating beings. Humans most of all.

This distinctness had guided Rose to make the Earth her home. To sever the ties she had with her old life on Homeworld and fight to defend this strange and beautiful world she’d fallen in love with. Pearl was happy to take up arms and join her in this fight, but there were times when she missed the vastness of space. Traveling between Warp Pads could only do so much in terms of recreating that feel. The feeling that you’re so small in the universe, that you are only playing one infinitesimal part in a much bigger ecosystem. It terrified her and thrilled her at the same time.

She sat with Steven for a little while in the sand, watching the last bit of blue fade away and the blackness of night deluge the sky. The moon shone down, its crescent shape appearing as a toothy grin to Steven, and the stars began to appear in all their glory. She had shown him many of these stars several times before, using some of the terminologies coined by human astronomers to describe the far off groupings of stars and the planets in their same solar system. She had to admit there was something to admire about the old astronomers. Their charting skills and their admittedly clever naming for some of the constellations were quite creative. They were still wrong about a great many things concerning their own galaxy (to say nothing of the utter nonsense that was astrology) but she gave them points for trying.

“Oh Steven,” she said wistfully, “we used to travel all across these stars. You can’t even imagine how many other billions of stars exist out there in the universe. How many other planets are out there besides your own.” She could tell him so many things about what she knew of space. Where other inhabitable planets were, where she and Rose had gone on their first mission together, where the Homeworld rested deep in the far reaches of the night sky. She could say all these things and more, give him a lecture that Copernicus or Galileo could only dream about in their wildest fantasies. But she couldn’t. Both because she knew he wouldn’t really remember it (even with the help of Brahms’s snappily named “Cello Sonata No.2 in F major Op. 99”) and it brought too many memories back to her. The good, and the bad, and both she preferred to forget on most days.

She gasped as she noticed a falling star glide across the sky. “Steven look at that.” She pointed his little arm in the direction of the star. He looked up at the sky and the stars seemed to reflect in his eyes. Pearl sighed as she watched him. Rose loved to point out falling stars in the sky. She would sit with her for hours, often until the sun came up, enjoying one another’s company. There were some nights when they would talk endlessly and other nights when they merely spoke in sighs. There were not-so-rare occasions where Rose would sing as well. Simple songs she’d either learned years before or made up on the spot. Pearl loved listening to them either way. Loved those endless nights under the stars with the most important Gem in her life. She wondered perhaps if there could ever come a time when she and Steven might share their own nights like this. Endlessly star watching, regaling him in their numerous adventures. Keeping the spirit of Rose Quartz alive within him.

Steven began to yawn and rub his eyes, a clear indication that it was time to retire back inside. When he was a little older she would have to dig up one of the many telescopes Amethyst had in her room. Then she could really show him the glory of the universe by night.

“Ugh, all this sand.” She brushed his diaper vigorously. “And Garnet just gave you a bath.” Steven didn’t seem to mind the sand but reached out to Pearl’s tunic and started mimicking her brushing, swatting away what little sand was on her. “Oh, thank you Steven,” she said when she realized what he was doing, “you’re so sweet.” She planted a few short kisses on his cheek before walking back up the sand hill and up the wooden stairs leading to the beach house. She had some difficulty carrying Steven in one arm and the radio in the other, almost tripping and falling back down the hill a few times. “We need to put a railing on these,” Pearl said to herself. Steven cooed in agreement (or at least she would say he did).

She opened the door (with some difficulty) but stopped before she stepped through the frame. She turned her head around to get another look at the sky. There was no discernable reason behind it, but something compelled her to take a final look that night. A ghost from the past. A distant memory. Or perhaps the fruitless wish that someone might be standing there on the beach.

 

There was a nightly ritual that Steven had grown accustomed to for whoever tucked him in. Before he bid the world goodnight (at least until something like a nightmare or his as of yet uncontrollable bowels woke him up) Steven would love to hear a story as he nodded off. Greg had bought many children’s books for him and would often put on the equivalent of a one man show when reading them to him. Plenty of grand gesticulations, a wide array of disparate voices for each character, and he often acted out whatever action was happening in the story when simply showing him an illustration would have sufficed all the same. Pearl had a flair for the dramatic at times but she didn’t have a very high opinion about some of the books meant for Steven.

Some of them were adequate enough, like the one about a bear with a repugnant name and a honey addiction, but then you had others that were simply ridiculous. There was a book where a reportedly hideous duckling was mocked by its peers for being ugly to which he responded with the solemn wish, “Someday I will grow up to be a beautiful swan.” Nowhere in the evolutionary process was it even remotely possible for such a feat to happen. Especially in the rather short lifespan of a duck. Another book featured an anthropomorphic train (which was frightening enough) repeating a mantra to itself over and over to the point of insanity when others doubted him. What sort of message was this supposed to teach? Ignore the constructive criticism of others? Push yourself so hard you exhaust yourself? She was shocked, frankly, that such literature was allowed to spread to the impressionable minds of youngsters (and don’t even get her started on nursery rhymes like the cradle in the treetop).

Needless to say, when Pearl was responsible for putting Steven to bed she preferred telling her own stories, which were already leagues better than the kinds in his books because they were based on fact. Pearl would guide him to sleep retelling the events of old missions with the Gems, their dealings with certain people and places on Earth, anecdotes that Rose had shared with her thousands of years ago, she had an endless vault of stories to tell. She would often embellish these stories so that they were more appropriate or more interesting for him but each of them were still ingrained in reality. And sometimes that could be more perplexing than any talking train or young duck with a serious bout of denial.

“Here we go.” She said slowly as she helped Steven into his pajamas. He didn’t wear them too often due to it not making a whole lot of difference whether he wore actual clothes or not at this age but Pearl loved seeing him in them. A pink onesie decorated in floral patterns, matching his gemstone perfectly. She took a moment to admire him and give him a tight hug before making her way down the wooden steps from his future bed to the couch.

“Now what can I tell you tonight?” She propped him up on her lap as she thought. The mission she and Garnet took on earlier in the morning and the issue in the Temple weren’t exactly thrilling enough to make an entertaining story (the punchline to a joke perhaps but hardly fitting a three-act structure). There were other things she could read to him besides what passed for children’s literature. She’d read a handful of books over the years that she enjoyed or at least considered the basis for good intellectual discussion. But nothing put him to sleep faster than the symbolism of the fading aspirations or mad obsessions of the common man through a green light on a far off dock or a giant white whale, so they were reserved for when he had incredibly bad nights.

At times like this Pearl found it best to think on her feet. Something she was not usually adept to but she could improvise well enough when it came to story time.

“I have just the thing.” She said finally and shut her eyes. A dim light started to glow from the oval shaped gem on her forehead. She focused her thoughts on a few concrete images. She could see a planet, an assembly of Gems, herself among that assembly, kneeling at the feet of the Diamonds…

She opened her eyes and a beam of light shot out of her gem. Projecting the image onto the roof for Steven to see. The projection was a mixture of cerulean, white and black colors. Certainly not as colorful as anything the TV could provide but much more immersive in size and appearance. It looked as though there were a field growing on the ceiling of the beach house, stretching far with the sun overhead, a castle sitting far off in the distance. To Steven it was real. He gazed at the picture in complete awe and leaned back into Pearl’s stomach to get a better view. She smiled at him and tussled his hair. This was not the first time she had used her gem for this, but he always reacted as if it was. That was the joy of babies, she found, they’re always impressed by you.

“There was once a far off kingdom,” she began, “Far, far away from Beach City.” Many of Pearl’s stories involved this sort of setting. There was something about the romanticized part of the Dark Ages that always fascinated her (even if living through them was certainly no picnic). “A prosperous and beautiful country, hiding a darker secret just below its surface.” The images from Pearl’s gem began to move. From the view of the castle it changed to the view of a simple farm house, with a young woman working hard in the fields. She looked familiar, but Steven was too transfixed to make any connection.

“And in this kingdom,” Pearl narrated, “lived a lowly serf.” The Serf was hard at work in the field outside the house, alongside other nameless and faceless workers toiling in the hot sun. “The Serf, who was never given a proper name, served under the rulers of the land. Four Queens of cunning, ruthlessness, beauty, and war.” The image changed to a grouping of four women seated on four thrones. Their faces obscured but their towering size and intimidation beyond measure. Steven clutched Pearl’s tutu and began to whimper at the sight. “It’s all right Steven,” Pearl wrapped her arms around him and her leaned her chin on his head. “Look.”

The four thrones turned to one and only one of the Ladies remained. The Serf was at the foot of her throne, kowtowing as she looked at nothing but the ground. The Queen slowly sat up from her throne and approached the Serf, kneeling down to her level and placing a hand on her chin, bidding her to meet her eyes.

“One of the Queens was not like the others.”  Pearl said as the Queen’s face came into view. It was a bright face, youthful and full of grace. A charming smile and genial eyes met the Serf’s, who eventually smiled back sheepishly. Steven was smiling too.

“The Serf had found favor with the Lady in Pink. Not through any act of valor or other honorable acts. Simply because…” Pearl hesitated, as if asking herself why exactly the Lady found favor with her. “Because she saw something that no one else did.” She said. “Not even the Serf.” She resolved to herself that she would never fully understand what it was she saw. No matter how many times she asked.

“The Serf soon became the personal servant to the Lady. Earning her trust and becoming a close friend.” Pearl’s gem projected images of the Serf and the Lady walking through some of the corridors of the castle, talking among themselves while sharing more than a few laughs. The passage of time indicated through the rising and setting sun through a small window in one of the halls. The Serf gradually becoming more and more comfortable with the Lady, until there wasn’t a moment when her arm wasn’t draped in hers. Pearl smiled at the image in fond remembrance. Allowing the Serf and Lady to talk for almost a whole minute before a strange feeling came upon her. It happened in a split second but the images emitting from her gem changed from a medieval setting to that of a field. Not the field the Serf had worked in but something much more familiar. A place that Pearl had been.

“ _This is Earth?_ ” She had asked long ago, stepping down from the ship in amazement.

“ _Isn’t it beautiful?_ ” A familiar voice echoed in her mind. She remembered where she had been when she emerged from that ship as well. Silhouetted beautifully against the morning sun. “ _Come on, you haven’t seen anything yet!_ ”

The memory faded away and Pearl was brought back to reality. Steven was waiting expectantly for the next image to appear. Pearl shook her head and from her gem came the scene of the Serf hiding in a corner of a great hall, listening to a conversation between the four Queens. “A rift was growing between the rulers of this kingdom,” she said, her voice taking on an air of grim seriousness. “Whispers came of dark deeds planned by the Lady’s peers. A planned invasion of another kingdom blissfully unaware of their presence. The Lady in Pink refused to partake in the others’ tyranny any longer, and denounced her crown.” As she said this the Lady herself threw the tiara she wore at the feet of the other Queens, who continued to stare at her through their shadowed faces. The image faded and saw the Lady in her room, collecting her things in preparation to escape the kingdom. “But the other Queens would not take this betrayal lightly.” From the window emerged a dark figure, a knife poised in their hand as they snuck into the Lady’s bedroom. They approached her silently, raising the knife in preparation to silence her forever. Until the door burst open and the Serf ran into the room, a sword held firm in her hand.

“The Serf rushed in defense of her Lady,” Pearl said as a fierce battle between the Serf and the would-be assassin took place. “Never having proper experience in battle, she was gravely injured,” the assassin plunged the knife into the Serf’s side as she said this. The Serf fell to the floor, leaving enough time for the assassin to raise their knife for another strike, only to be blocked by the Lady’s shield and promptly defeated. The Lady turned to the still body of the Serf, dropping the shield and picking her up in her arms. The Serf raised a weak hand to the Lady’s cheek, which she took in her own, entwining their fingers. Another flash of memory came upon Pearl without warning.

“ _What were you thinking!?_ _You nearly had to retreat back into your gem because of that!_ _What if something worse had happened to you?_ ”

“ _I…_ ” she could still hear her own weak words as if they had just escaped her lips, “ _I had to… save you._ ” She remembered her shocked face after that. Few things ever surprised her as much as she had.

“ _Oh P_ -”

She forced the memory out of her mind. The image changing to the Lady in Pink standing in front of a group of people. “The Lady took many others with her who would stand against the Queens’ despotism, to the smaller but equally wonderful kingdom they planned to exploit. In an act of rebellion she made a vow that she would serve this kingdom as nothing more or less than a knight, fighting to defend it even at the cost of her own life. It would not be an easy battle. Many would likely perish in the coming war, but many stepped forward and agreed to fight alongside her.” The Lady raised her sword and looked out to the crowd. With barely a moment’s hesitation the Serf raised her own sword in alliance, a little ways off from her two women holding hands raised their own swords, joined by more and more swords until the entire crowd had pledged their allegiance to a new kingdom.

“ _You don’t have to do this with me._ ”

“ _But I want to!_ ”

“ _I know you do. Please, please understand. If we lose we’ll be killed. And if we win… we can never go home._ ”

“ _Why would I want to go home if you’re here?_ ” She remembered the affectionate chuckle, and the outstretched palm she hesitantly took in hers.

“ _My P_ -”

“The battle was long and not without heavy consequence,” Pearl resumed, trying her best to keep her mind on track. “The Serf saw many of her friends suffer greatly, losing their lives for what was a more noble cause than any the other Queens could give them. She nearly lost her own.” The projection showed a horde of armies converging on one another. She spared the more gory details of course but it still sent a shiver down her spine to see it. The heat of the moment, the constant threat of being struck down by some stray projectile or an enemy just out of sight, seeing her under the greatest threat from the most dangerous of foes. The Serf rushed to the side of the Lady, sustaining many wounds as she fought. Sword after sword and arrow after arrow she took, caring not for the fell blows of either. All that mattered was keeping her Lady safe. All that mattered…

“ _All that matters. All that… matters…_ ” She held her stomach as she forced herself up. “ _I… don’t…_ ”

The images from Pearl’s gem became foggy, her head aching as she tried to concentrate. The Lady’s face became distorted, morphing into various forms. Amethyst, Garnet, Steven… the battlefield cleared until only the Serf and the Lady remained, the image regaining its clarity.

“Th-the Lady stood over her conquest. S-she had won the day… and severed ties with her old life and kingdom. The Serf kneeled at her feet, the same as she had the day she first pledged her undying service to her.” Pearl caught a lump in her throat. “But the Queen… the Lady, placed a hand on her chin. ‘Why do you bow to me?’ She asked. ‘You are no longer my servant. You haven’t been for a very long time now.’” She felt a tear pass down her cheek. “‘I still serve you my lady,’ the Serf said, ‘you are my master and I your serf.’ The Serf was brought to her feet and bid to look into the Lady’s eyes.”

“‘You are no one’s _slave_ ,’ She said firmly, ‘You are my friend. My equal.’”

“‘I am not your equal,’ the Serf proclaimed, ‘I don’t even have a name.’” The Lady placed a comforting hand on the Serf’s cheek as Pearl laid her hand on hers. “‘Then I shall give you a name.’”

“ _No._ ” She said as tears filled her eyes. “ _You can’t be right. There has to be some other way…_ ”

“ _There is no other way._ ” Her doleful answer drove a spear through Pearl’s heart.

“ _But that just can’t be…_ ” She fell to her knees as she wept. “ _You can’t do this._ ” The other Gem stood in front of Pearl, placing a hand on her chin.

“ _Please. I know what this means for myself. I wanted this to happen and I can’t back out of it just to save my own life._ ” Pearl grabbed her arm and looked at her through red, watery eyes.

“ _We can find a way!_ ” She pleaded. “ _A way for you both to exist! We can ask Garnet! We can find some artifact! We can do anything! ANYTHING!_ ” She buried her face in her arm.

“ _I’m sorry._ ” The other Gem said. Pearl was surprised to see when she looked back at her that she was crying too. “ _I’m sorry but I had to tell you. I couldn’t imagine you having to deal with it after I was already gone._ ” She had told Pearl first out of all them. It would only get worse as she relayed the news to the other two. And to Greg. “ _I have no right to ask you this,_ ” she brushed some of Pearl’s hair out of her eyes. “ _You owe me nothing and you never have._ ” Pearl shook her head as she sniffled. She owed her everything.

“ _Rose…_ ” she said weakly. Rose merely gave her a forced smile as she fought through her tears.

“ _I know you would do it without question. Without me even having to say it. But please… I want you to take care of him for me._ ” Pearl shook as more tears shed from her. “ _I want you to tell him all about us. Our history. The history of the Crystal Gems. The importance of Earth. How important he is… every day. Please P_ -” The image of the Serf and the Lady still hung overhead. Standing together in the empty field, the sun rising and silhouetting her the same as it had the day she had first arrived on Earth. No. That was not part of this story. The Lady brought her head down to the Serf’s ear. Christening her in unison with her conflicting memories.

“ _Please,_ ” Rose had said, joined in unison by the Lady’s beautiful whisper, “ _Pearl._ ”

 

“ROSE!” The image disappeared in a flash, retreating back to Pearl’s gem. The beach house was dark save for the rays of moonlight that intruded through the cracks in the roof. It took Pearl a moment to remember that she even was in the beach house. Her head was gnawing at her, to where even keeping her eyes open was excruciating. She cursed herself, knowing full well what happened when she used her holographic powers for extended periods of time. It took a toll on her mind that never got any easier to cope with. For an instant she had even forgotten the reason she was telling the story to begin with.

Steven was asleep on her lap. He’d probably fallen into slumber a long time ago and she only now just noticed it. She squeezed him tight enough that he wouldn’t wake up, feeling the gem on his stomach through his pajamas. She let her hand linger there for a moment as the pain nulled. The whispers of Rose Quartz echoing throughout the empty house. Or so she thought.

She jumped a little at the sound of a creaking floorboard behind her, remaining just as flustered when she saw Greg standing in the doorway. His eyes glued to her as he struggled to hold several planks of wood and a plastic bag filled with diapers in his arms.

“How,” she sniffed and rubbed her nose, “how long have you been there?”

“N-not long.” He answered a bit too briskly. “A few minutes…” he amended. “Ever since the assassin tried to kill the Lady.” He had an awkward and probably uncomfortable grin on his face.

“I see.” She broke eye contact and gently hoisted Steven into her arms as she stood up. Steven’s eyes opened ever so slightly but he didn’t cry out. Greg scratched his head through his long yet thinning hair.

“I…” he began but stopped himself. He could no longer hold all the items he carried and placed them by the window. He turned back to Pearl who stood stationary with Steven. “Rose…” he tried again but choked on the words he intended. He rubbed his arm and gave it one more go. “She… she thought you were amazing.” Pearl gasped and met his eyes again. She sighed and attempted to smile herself.

“You as well.” Was all she could say. They stood in silence for a few moments. They had shared many a moment in silence before, exchanged glares and wordless one-ups in some petty competition that was never worth the effort to begin with. And now the air between them had never been more amicable.

A ray of light appeared at the far side of the room, revealing the other two Gems finally back from their mission.

“WE BACK SUCKAS!!!” Amethyst bellowed at the top of her lungs. It had been an invigorating endeavor no doubt. Pearl and Greg stared at her and her impish grin subsided. “What’s up with you guys?”

Garnet smacked the back of Amethyst’s head. “OW, he-” she silenced the smaller Gem with a single finger to her lips, gesturing to Steven with her head. They both snuck their way over to his crib as Pearl carefully placed him inside. They all gathered around, watching him stretch his body out and then lay still. Breathing as softly as the night breeze.

“I think he’s starting to get a little big for it.” Greg said.

“Time for a proper bed?” Pearl asked.

“Maybe.” He replied. “Let’s just see how potty training works out first.”

“Yeah I’m not touching that one.” Amethyst said and they shared a quiet laugh.

“Come on Gems,” Garnet said, “Let’s let him sleep.” Amethyst yawned herself as they all lined up at the Temple Gate (something Pearl always wondered why she bothered to do but let it slide). She went in first, retreating to the sanctity of her personal junkyard of a room for what would be her fifth nap of the day. Garnet went afterwards, not having a singular room of her own but taking on the responsibility of monitoring the room where they housed the bubbles they’d collected over the years, holding the two gems in her hands to the door and stepping into a part of the Temple only allowed to her. Pearl was the last to go through, stalling long enough to look back at the crib and hear the small and beautiful breaths from inside it. She nodded at Greg who nodded back at her from the couch, preparing to tuck himself in. And then she stepped through, still watching the crib as the door shut itself for the night.

Greg coughed as he tried to get himself comfortable. The couch was not the most cozy of beds but it beat his van by a longshot at least (not that he would ever admit to such heresy). He closed his eyes and let the sound of his son’s breathing drift him off to sleep. There was a lot of work to do tomorrow if they were ever going to finish this beach house (they would, just not as soon as they would have hoped) he would have to wake up bright and early to get things back on track. Thankfully Steven was not only his son but an alarm clock as well. “Hehe, alarm clock.” He really was immature.

 

The Temple Gate opened louder than she wanted. She poked her head inside the beach house and was greeted by Greg’s thunderous snores. Standing on tip-toes she entered the room, the door closing behind her leaving her to adjust to the darkness. She held her arms out to make sure she didn’t bump into anything, least of all the crib, grabbing hold of the top of it and peeking over the edge of it. Steven was still asleep, snoring at a lesser volume than his father. She smiled and kneeled to the floor, watching him through the bars. Pearl could do without the guttural (or ‘nasal’ if you wanted to be literal) sounds of Greg’s sleep apnea but it was a small price to pay for a sight such as this. Steven sleeping soundly and undisturbed, as peaceful as the sea after a storm.

The pleas of Rose Quartz ran through her head, the same as they always did when she watched Steven at night.

“He is so special. So unlike anything else we’ve ever seen before.” Pearl remembered laying her head on Rose’s stomach. Feeling the kicks that reminded you someone was in there. “Remind him Pearl.” She said. “Never let him forget how extraordinary he is.” She would honor this wish. Every night she would whisper it to him, the same words she had said to his mother long ago.

“You’re wonderful, Steven.” She reached her hand through the bars and stroked his chest with her finger. “So wonderful…”

 

Amethyst stared at the cavernous ceiling high above her. Her head resting on her hands as she lay on a pile of mattresses she’d horded over the years. Even though she’d done it several times during the day (and not nearly as many times as her highest record of thirteen) sleep refused to come to her that night. She gave up trying for the time being, listening to the ambience of the waterfall leading up to Pearl’s room echo throughout her labyrinthine abode.

The day’s events played on repeat in her mind. Her brief heart-to-heart with her closest yet distant friend, letting off some of the leftover steam from that conversation in the jungle, and now here she was. Lying there, unable to force herself to sleep, just waiting for something else to happen.

Her thoughts wandered to the promises she’d given them, Rose and Steven. Her conviction in keeping them was unwavering, but still she wondered if that would be enough. Words were easy enough to promise but actions were something else entirely. And betraying a promise through your actions was almost effortless. But if there was one thing she proved she excelled at, she was an excellent fighter. She would fight to keep the promises she had made, to ensure that Rose’s faith in her wasn’t misplaced. That Steven’s unconditional dependence on her wasn’t a sucker’s bet.

“You and he are going to get along just fine Amethyst.” She remembered her saying as she held her belly. “He’s going to look up to you. Depend on you to steer him in the right direction.” She remembered her stroking her cheek just the way she liked it. “And I know you will.”

Amethyst nodded as she shut her eyes.

“I promise Rose.” She said as sleep finally found her. “I’ll do right by you.”

 

Garnet observed the tiny bubble she and Amethyst made only a few hours ago. A strange gem was hosted inside, green and lightning shaped, a difficult monster to track and even more difficult to capture. “Monster.” It felt wrong to refer to them with such a harsh description, but what could she do? What could any of them do to prevent the sharp decline of so many of their kind? Rose might have known, she could have found the answer eventually. But then, it was in this very room where she had confessed the exact opposite to her.

“I don’t know what will happen to him Garnet.” She admitted as she gazed upwards, in the direction of where the Crystal Heart was located. “That’s the only thing about this that scares me.” Garnet’s face remained stolid but she did not take this lightly. There were few things that truly frightened Rose Quartz.

“I know you all think that I can solve everything, that I’m some super Gem with her own kind of future vision. But I’m not I’m just… I’m just me.” She clung to her stomach for comfort before placing both hands on Garnet’s shoulders.

“You’ll have to lead them when I’m gone.” Garnet gave an unsure nod at this. “You’re wise and fair as well as strong Garnet. If anyone can keep the Gems together, you can.” She smiled at her and reached up to her face to remove her sunglasses (something she only allowed Rose to do). “And you already have so many things to watch out for but-”

“Of course I’ll give special attention to Steven, Rose.” Garnet said with the utmost of humility. “Every day.” Rose let out a hearty laugh.

“I’m gonna miss that.” Her face grew somber, even when she pulled Garnet closer for an embrace. “Thank you Garnet.” She said. “Thank you for everything.”

Garnet remembered how small she felt that day. Rose had always been the tallest of the four but when she held her like that, close to where she was standing right now, she felt as tall as her two selves split apart. If Rose could see her now, if she could see how she was leading the team, how she was using her vision every day to watch over Steven…

“She would be proud.” Her calmer half thought. With more confidence in her assumption this time.

“Yeah.” Her abrasive half agreed. “She would.”

 

Greg was back on the beach. Letting the tide wash up to his feet, engulfing them or barely touching the tips of his toes. He expected the sky to be the dark purple shade he’d seen before, that the sea would have the same luminescent glow. But they had neither. The sky was its typical shade of blue and the sea was a darker shade of the same color. He could hear seagulls chirping in the sky above, the distant sounds of a busy boardwalk coming from town, the tourist season. The soft humming coming from a short ways behind him.

This wasn’t a dream. This was a memory.


	5. Another Day

**Another Day**

 

Her eyes were closed as she listened to the sound of the tide gently brush against the shore. The distinct smell of salt and a far off barbecue to signify one last attempt at holding on to the summer hung in the air, mixed with the sound of seagulls calling out to each other. She could hear him too, fiddling with his guitar as he often did further along the beach. She sat near the bottom of the hill at the base of the Temple, anxious for when the Gems returned from their mission. She had something important to tell each of them. The only hard part was where to begin.

She sought refuge in this calm moment, where there was nothing but Greg toying with the strings on his guitar. As he sought to find the right pitch she too sought to find the right words. The words that would change all of their lives forever, and mark the beginning of another.

She could feel it. Underneath her gemstone she could feel the new life growing inside her. It felt strange, terrifying even to think that you were carrying something so fragile inside you. Such a tiny little thing that would become something like an extra limb almost. Except limbs don’t exactly have minds or free will of their own, she thought. It had been such a shock when the human doctor said it would be a boy. He would probably have his father’s face, and his hair perhaps (from the sunspot reflected on Greg’s head it looked like he already had). She wondered what part of her he would have, aside from the stone on her navel. She rested her hands on her stomach, opening her eyes and watching them rise slowly with each breath she took. Funny, she never used to breathe before.

A soft melody came from Greg’s guitar, he had finally found the right pitch it seemed. She smiled and shut her eyes again, drawing each breath as if she was preparing to jump to her feet and dash a million miles across the world and back again. But she didn’t stir. All she did was hum along to the repeating strums of the guitar. They had had plenty of sessions like this where Greg had started playing a random tune and she would put words to it equally as random.

“You should’ve been with me when I was on tour,” he had said to her long ago, “I’m awful at lyrics.”

“Bite your tongue!” She had exclaimed, intentionally over the top.

“No I mean it. All my stuff is chicken-scratch compared to what you come up with on the fly.”

“Oh stop.” She chuckled. He was always like that. Feeling the only way he could praise her was to tear himself down. “You’ve always had beautiful lyrics in your songs. Ever since I first saw you play.” That concert. It seemed a century ago when they had first met, and now their time was slipping further and further away.

She opened her eyes again. The tranquility was doing nothing to calm her nerves, to help her find the right things to say to all of them. To Garnet, who probably already knew what she wanted to say and would come breaking down the door to her room any day now. To Amethyst, her sweet little Gem who had been through so much already. To Pearl, with whom she had spent the most time out of all with, who had become so close to her, who could, if she wanted, keep this secret between them until the time eventually came even if it ate away at her very core. To Greg, the human who taught her more about his kind than anyone had in the thousands of years she’d called the Earth her home. The human whose child sat just below her gemstone. What could she say to all of them to make them understand? To let them know that even at the cost, she wanted this more than anything in the entire universe.

The words sat in the pit of her stomach, thrashing and clawing to get out, making her sick just to think of it. She couldn’t think of it. Not right now…

She raised herself off the ground and walked down the beach. Past Greg who stopped playing when she went by, down to the very edge of the shore, where the water kissed the bottom of her long white dress. She turned to Greg and smiled at him. A smile that stabbed at her cheeks the more she tried to maintain it.

“Is something wrong?” He asked. He was more perceptive than the other Gems gave him credit for. She shook her head as her cheeks burned, her pink, curly hair waving wildly as she did. She tilted her head in the direction of the sea as she held her hand out to him.

“Swim with me.”

 

There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky that day. The seagulls who couldn’t keep their mouths closed a few minutes ago had all gone silent, and none flew overhead as she stared up into the distance. She was floating a short walk away from the shore, her dress rippling on all sides of her, ruined were it not for the fact that she could magic it back to its full glory. Greg was not so lucky. Between the two of them they could never count how many outfits he’d ruined due to a spontaneous dip in the sea. He wore nothing but a plain brown t-shirt that day, with light green shorts and sandals he was too lazy to leave back on the beach. His hair spread out behind him as he floated nearby her.

They held hands to keep from drifting apart and spoke in small sentences as they usually did when words were not enough.

“Nice day.” He said.

“Very.” She agreed.

“Not a lot of clouds.”

“Nope.”

“…My floaters won’t go away.”

“Sorry.”

She rubbed her thumb against the side of his hand as they ‘talked.’ They could be knee-deep in the conversation Rose meant to have with him, the one that made her wish she could sink to the bottom of the sea and seal herself away. She hated not telling them for this long, but she hated anything that could cause them pain more.

“What are you thinking about?” Greg asked.

“What?”

“You’re never this quiet unless something’s bugging you.” He pushed himself upwards as he sank a little to look at her. “What’s wrong Rose?” She smiled at him as she met his gaze. He was a perceptive man indeed. This should have made it easier for her, to confess all she wanted to tell and have a long talk about it. A discussion she’d played in her head countless of times. Every possible rebuttal, every denial, every heartbreaking sob from each of them. It tortured her to imagine it, and she would have to torture them with her news sooner or later.

“I…” She started but could not finish. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how selfish it made her, she couldn’t do it yet. Now wasn’t the proper time, not for her. “I was just, thinking about the baby.” It wasn’t a lie. Not directly at least. Greg made a half-smile before floating onto his feet. He bid Rose to join him as well, watching her rise majestically out of the water and tower above him, blocking out the sun so that she was silhouetted against it.

“Are you worried you won’t be a good mother?” He asked. This was a stereotypical fear of any expectant parent he’d heard plenty about from his own and all the books he’d read on it (a grand whopping amount of one).

“No, it’s not that.” She said. She wouldn’t have to worry about being a good mother at all.

“I’m kinda worried I won’t be a good father.” He admitted as he stared at her exposed gem. Her dress had always had that cut in the middle of it, a star shaped outline he’d almost planned on using as his own insignia when he started his band way back when. Fate worked out in mysterious ways.

“You’ll be perfect.” Rose said as she brushed his hair in her fingers. She leaned down incredibly low and met his lips for a soft kiss, wet from the ocean beating her to it. Her hands were trembling as she let his hair fall from the spaces of her fingers. Greg noticed before she could hide it and took her hand, closing it gently into a fist and kissing her knuckles. Something really was bothering her and he wished she would tell him, but he didn’t press her. When she wanted to talk she would, eventually. She had told him everything about her and the other Gems in due time, just as he had told her everything about him, warts and all. There were no secrets between them. Even though he knew that was never true for any couple.

A single tear fell from Rose’s eye as Greg kissed her hand. She fell to her knees, the water reaching up to her chest, and held Greg as tightly as she could. He held her as well, savoring the feel of her hair and the warmth of her breath on his shoulder.

“I’ve thought of what I’d like to name him.” She said.

“What?” Greg asked. Rose hesitated, closing her eyes and letting the sound of the sea take hold of her once more. Guiding her in a trance as her anxiety ran away with her. As the name approached her lips that same anxiety lessened. The thrashing in her stomach assuaged, and unbeknownst to her at the moment, her gem started to glow. Faint at first but growing in power as the name ran through her mind repeatedly. Giving her the strength she would need to eventually tell the others what her pregnancy truly meant for her, and providing them and countless others with the strength they needed and didn’t even know they possessed in the years to come.

A name that would hang on her lips till the day he came.

“Steven.”


End file.
